{"id":17901,"date":"2020-03-17T20:30:51","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T04:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2020\/03\/17\/news-11634\/"},"modified":"2020-03-17T20:30:51","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T04:30:51","slug":"news-11634","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2020\/03\/17\/news-11634\/","title":{"rendered":"Child identity theft, part 2: How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Credit to Author: Jovi Umawing| Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 16:33:29 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a world where children as young as a single day old can fall prey to fraud, it is more important than ever to educate parents and other caretakers about the dangers of child identity theft. While the hope is that perceptions can be changed and criminals brought to justice, likely the biggest concern for parents is how to reclaim their child&#8217;s identity, should they ever be in such an unfortunate position.<\/p>\n<p>That is, unless the parents or guardians are the ones behind the fraud in the first place. In part 1 of our series on child identity theft, we talked about <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-1-on-familiar-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\">familiar fraud<\/a>\u2014fraud committed by someone who personally knows the victim\u2014and how children are increasingly being targeted for this crime. We also touched on the repercussions of familiar fraud in the lives of kids and their families. <\/p>\n<p>In part 2 of our series, we look at turning back the tables and reclaiming your child&#8217;s identity, whether it&#8217;s been stolen by a stranger or someone who knows them. In addition, we highlight the signs your child\u2019s information might be compromised and how parents or guardians can better protect their data.<\/p>\n<h3>Signs of child identity compromise<\/h3>\n<p>When it comes to figuring out if a child\u2019s identity has been compromised and is being used, thankfully, there are telltale signs that parents and guardians can look out for. These signs are displayed both in the real world and the digital world. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Physical mail arriving to your home that is addressed to your child. These include card applications, banking statements, and credit card or insurance applications for accounts under their name, and they&#8217;re the most obvious sign of compromise. Your child may also receive a notice from the IRS either because of unpaid income taxes or having multiple tax returns filed under their SSN.<\/li>\n<li>Phone calls received from collection agencies directed to your child.<\/li>\n<li>If the landline has a caller ID, your child\u2019s name may appear on it. This indicates that someone has stolen and is misusing their information.<\/li>\n<li>A turned-down application for government benefit for your child. This is because someone with the same SSN as your child may already be benefiting from it.<\/li>\n<li>Bank turning down an account application for a child due to the negative credit score associated with the child\u2019s SSN.<\/li>\n<li>Important documents of your child suddenly going missing, including their SSD card and birth certificate.<\/li>\n<li>In addition, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has listed <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"several documents that may suddenly show up (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idtheftcenter.org\/identity-theft-red-flags\/\" target=\"_blank\">several documents that may suddenly show up<\/a>\u2014or, in certain cases, not show up\u2014that potentially give away active ID theft activity. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity<\/h3>\n<p>Reclaiming a stolen identity takes a lot of work. This is true whether the victim is an adult or a child. And the length of time spent undoing the harm to your child\u2019s reputation potentially correlates with how long the fraud has been taking place before it was identified and acted upon.<\/p>\n<p>If you, dear parent or guardian, have seen any of the telltale signs of identity fraud, immediately contact the top credit bureaus to freeze your child\u2019s credit until they are old enough to enter into a contract. Doing so means that these reports will be taken out of circulation.<\/p>\n<p>A credit report for a child is normally non-existent, but if one is found, the parent or guardian should contact an organization that deals with child identity theft, such as the\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.identitytheft.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">Identity Theft Report<\/a>. If a parent would only like to take extra precaution, they can ask their credit reporting agencies (CRA), which are Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, or other smaller bureaus to create their child\u2019s credit report and freeze it.<\/p>\n<p>It is equally important for parents and\/or guardians to keep the PIN that each of these credit unions have assigned to them.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond freezing and receiving credit reports, other important steps for reclaiming your child&#8217;s identity include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contacting any companies where fraudulent accounts in your child&#8217;s name were opened. Tell the fraud department about what happened, and ask them to close the account and send a letter confirming your child isn\u2019t liable. If necessary, send a letter explaining your child is a minor who can\u2019t enter into contracts and attach a copy of their birth certificate.<\/li>\n<li>For parents in the United States, contacting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.identitytheft.gov\/\">IdentityTheft.gov<\/a> or call 877-ID-THEFT to report the fraud.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>How to protect your child\u2019s identity<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.experian.com\/blogs\/ask-experian\/the-emotional-toll-of-child-identity-theft\/\" target=\"_blank\">Experian survey report<\/a> mentioned in part 1 of our series, more than half of victims (63 percent) wished that their parents had done more to protect them from potential fraud. Interestingly, 61 percent of parents felt the same way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"42665\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/attachment\/child-victim-experian\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian.png\" data-orig-size=\"779,278\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"child-victim-experian\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian-300x107.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian-600x214.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian-600x214.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42665\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian-600x214.png 600w, https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/child-victim-experian.png 779w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"42666\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/attachment\/parents-experian\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian.png\" data-orig-size=\"774,278\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"parents-experian\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-300x108.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-600x216.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-600x216.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-600x216.png 600w, https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-300x108.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian-767x278.png 767w, https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/parents-experian.png 774w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Awareness of the risks and underlying dangers of child identity theft is something parents should be actively practicing. To avoid opening an opportunity for fraudsters to take advantage of your child\u2019s information, here are some tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t carry your child\u2019s SSN card. There is no need\u2014keep it safe at home instead.<\/li>\n<li>Know when your child\u2019s SSN is really needed when applying for something on their behalf. Schools, for example, don\u2019t ask for a child\u2019s SSN, so there is no need to provide it. <\/li>\n<li>When throwing out mail or documents with your personal information or your child\u2019s, shred them before disposing.<\/li>\n<li>You may also want to consider getting your child another form of identification, such as a passport or a state identification card.<\/li>\n<li>If you receive news of your child\u2019s school getting breached, don\u2019t hesitate to call the school and ask for more information.<\/li>\n<li>Inquire about your child\u2019s school <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.ed.gov\/policy\/gen\/guid\/fpco\/ferpa\/mndirectoryinfo.html\">directory information<\/a> policy. A directory information contains a lot of personally identifiable information (PII) about a child. And sometimes, such information is shared outside of the school. Parents and\/or guardians can either inform the school that they shouldn\u2019t share their child\u2019s information without their expressed consent, or opt out of having their information shared.<\/li>\n<li>Keep all important documents of your child in a safe and secure place.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Early detection is key. Getting acquainted with the red flags and keeping an eye out for them would nip fraud in the bud. Not only that, it\u2019d make reclaiming and restoring a child\u2019s identity back a little easier\u2014emotionally, mentally, and financially.<\/p>\n<p>Half of Experian respondents with children who have been victimized by fraud have <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.experian.com\/blogs\/ask-experian\/the-emotional-toll-of-child-identity-theft\/\" target=\"_blank\">learned the hard way<\/a> not to share personal information with family. Some have also started actively checking credit scores and enrolling for identity theft protection services.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n<h3><strong>The things we leave behind<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s easy for adults to forget that, like them, children have data and information that needs protecting, too. And even if their children are too young to use a computing device, they still have digital footprints. The reason? Mom and Dad or other legal guardians leave them behind. Unfortunately, it is unavoidable.<\/p>\n<p>Mom needs to schedule a doctor\u2019s appointment for the little one\u2019s check-up, so she uses her healthcare app. Proud dad shares short clips of his bundle of joy with Aunt Martha, who lives far away and couldn\u2019t visit the newborn in hospital. And before all of this, Mom and Dad announced the pregnancy to all their social media channels. <\/p>\n<p>Sadly, the very activities that give us joy and make tasks convenient can also leave behind breadcrumbs that identity thieves can sniff out and follow. Rarely do parents or guardians stop to think about how their sharing can impact their child&#8217;s digital life.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for example, baby pictures you may have shared on social media. They may contain metadata pointing to the location where they were taken. Or when you made that public announcement about your baby on the way: Did you also reveal their name? Fraudsters can easily glean from this information the baby&#8217;s full name and location. If they don\u2019t have the child\u2019s SSN yet, they can easily pair it with another SSN to create a synthetic identity.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t to say that parents and\/or guardians should deprive relatives and friends of your little one\u2019s adorable moments, or avoid entering any of their children&#8217;s information online. Just be mindful when doing so. Share privately by making use of your social network\u2019s privacy settings. Also caution or remind your relatives and friends to avoid re-sharing media you post to others without your consent.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n<h3>We\u2019re all in this together<\/h3>\n<p>In this age of data breaches, it is easy for us to focus on the security of our own data. But let us be aware that kids and young adults are becoming more of a target, too. Children, especially, are blank slates\u2014a highly-prized quality for someone with access to their information and with malicious intent. Hackers are after them; yet often, it&#8217;s those that are closer to them who cause the greatest harm\u2014sometimes without knowing they are doing it. Worse, more than one person could be fraudulently using an innocent child\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p>While parents and guardians are advised to be equally vigilant in protecting the data of their children\u2014biological and adopted ones\u2014as much as their own or anyone else\u2019s, we encourage any other responsible adult in the family to take part. If familiar fraud becomes a family problem, it should be a family affair to thwart it off at all costs for the future of the most vulnerable in the household.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/\">Child identity theft, part 2: How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\">Malwarebytes Labs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/\" target=\"bwo\" >https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/feed\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Credit to Author: Jovi Umawing| Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 16:33:29 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n<table cellpadding='10'>\n<tr>\n<td valign='top' align='center'><a href='https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/' title='Child identity theft, part 2: How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity'><img src='https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/shutterstock_674605543.jpg' border='0'  width='300px'  \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign='top' align='left'>In part 2 of our series on child identity theft, we examine the signs their PII might be compromised and how to reclaim your child&#8217;s identity if it is. We also list ways to protect their data and ID in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Categories: <\/p>\n<ul class=\"post-categories\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/category\/awareness\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Awareness<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tags: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/child-identity-fraud\/\" rel=\"tag\">child identity fraud<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/child-identity-theft\/\" rel=\"tag\">child identity theft<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/familiar-fraud\/\" rel=\"tag\">familiar fraud<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/identity-compromise\/\" rel=\"tag\">identity compromise<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/identity-fraud\/\" rel=\"tag\">identity fraud<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/identity-theft\/\" rel=\"tag\">identity theft<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/new-account-fraud\/\" rel=\"tag\">new account fraud<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/personally-identifiable-information\/\" rel=\"tag\">personally identifiable information<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/reclaim-child-identity\/\" rel=\"tag\">reclaim child identity<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/tag\/reclaim-identity\/\" rel=\"tag\">reclaim identity<\/a><\/p>\n<table width='100%'>\n<tr>\n<td align=right>\n<p><b>(<a href='https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/' title='Child identity theft, part 2: How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity'>Read more&#8230;<\/a>)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\/awareness\/2020\/03\/child-identity-theft-part-2-how-to-reclaim-your-childs-identity\/\">Child identity theft, part 2: How to reclaim your child\u2019s identity<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.malwarebytes.com\">Malwarebytes Labs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[10488,10378],"tags":[15496,24385,24386,24387,24462,16660,3921,24463,19130,24464,24465],"class_list":["post-17901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malwarebytes","category-security","tag-awareness","tag-child-identity-fraud","tag-child-identity-theft","tag-familiar-fraud","tag-identity-compromise","tag-identity-fraud","tag-identity-theft","tag-new-account-fraud","tag-personally-identifiable-information","tag-reclaim-child-identity","tag-reclaim-identity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17901\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}