Child identity theft: Why it’s a problem and how to prevent it

A five-month old baby and a 16-year old with a debt of $725,000 have one thing in common: both their identities were stolen.

According to a study done by the Carnegie Mellon Cylab, these are only two examples in a long line of child identity theft victims.

When thinking about identity theft, most people instantly think about their own information, but they should be thinking about their children’s too.

One Pocatello woman, Aubrey Jernberg, never thought it would be something she’d have to worry about.

But it was.

About two years ago, the Jernberg family was doing their taxes. When they received word back on their taxes, they were told their daughter’s social security number had been used elsewhere, and by someone else, for a few years.

“Honestly I thought it would be the last thing I would ever have to deal with,” Jernberg said. “It never even crossed my mind. It was shocking. I was angry. Like, that’s my daughter’s identity, not theirs.”

And Jernberg’s daughter is not a rare case.

In the Carnegie Mellon study, it shows just how much at risk children are.

The report was based on identity protection scans of 42,232 kids age 18 and under.

More information about child identity theft

The results showed that 4,311, or 10.2%, of children had their social security numbers stolen.

In comparison, out of the study’s adult population of 347,362, only 663 fell victim to identity theft. That’s only 0.2%; significantly lower than children. The study reveals overall children were targeted 51 times more than adults.

Recent medical data breaches also show how much at risk personal information can be.

Anthem Insurance had 80 million customers’ information stolen; Community Health Systems had 5 million; Utah Medicaid reported 780,000; Boston Children’s Hospital had 2,159.

In all these cases, a lot of customer information that was stolen belonged to children, not just adults.

Dianne Brush, community services specialist with the Pocatello Police Department, said kids are just as much at risk as adults when it comes to identity theft.

“It doesn’t discriminate,” Brush said. “Thieves will take anyone’s information they can get.”

So why do kids seem to be a bigger target?

Chris Sorensen, chief information officer for the City of Pocatello, said it’s because kids have a clean slate and it’s easier to get away with.

“It’s so easy to do,” Sorensen said. “You just got to get that kids number and unfortunately, a lot of times it’s a family member or a friend that steals that identity and gets that social security number. Sometimes it’s just somebody picking a random number and getting lucky.”

Thieves also target children more because it can go unnoticed for long periods of time. Because parents don’t typically check their child’s credit report, they wouldn’t notice if anything looks fishy. They may not even know that their child has one at all, when they shouldn’t.

The longer identity theft goes undetected, the more damaging it can be for kids. When they’re older and start applying for things like driver’s licenses, credit cards or mortgages, a bad history can ruin their application. Their application could be thrown straight in the trash and denied.

But experts said there are a few ways to try and help prevent this.

“Keep your information secure,” Brush said. “Shred all your documents that have any of your personal information in them, and know who’s got your information.”

Be cautious giving out a social security number. Do it only when absolutely necessary.

Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said that legally people aren’t required to give their social security number out, even to law enforcement.

“We tell people, the only one legally who can ask for your social security number is the IRS, the social security system,” Nielsen said.

Experts also said don’t be afraid to ask questions when it comes to protecting personal information.

“When you take your kid and enroll them into school for the first time, they want all this information,” Sorensen said. “And you as a parent need to ask that school official who’s asking for it, ‘Do you really need it? Do you really need my child’s social security number?'”

Sorensen said it’s a good idea to ask if there’s another way to provide proof of identity or validate information. He said to ask if something like a utility bill would suffice for what they need.

“Just know that it can happen to literally anybody and once it happens, it really does mess your life up and you can’t go back and fix it,” Jernberg said.

Brush agrees. She said it can take years for a child to clean their record up and clear any debts that a thief racked up.

Nielsen said to just always be careful with personal information and not to be too trusting putting information in others’ hands.

“In God we trust, everybody else we verify,” Nielsen said. “That’s probably the best advice I can give to anybody.”

Experts gave a few warning signs to watch out for. One is if kids start getting suspicious mail. Another is calls from the IRS saying there’s problems with taxes. This typically means someone has their social security number and is using it, coming back fraudulent on taxes.

Experts also recommend getting a credit check for kids every year to make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary.

There are three major companies to contact for a credit check.

Experian: 1-888-397-3742

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

TransUnion: childtheft@transunion.com

To report identity theft, go to the FBI’s crime complaint center atwww.ic3.gov.

There are some other websites with more information about identity theft:
www.idtheftinfo.org
www.ftc.gov
www.idtheftcenter.org