Article
How To Protect Your Child From Identity Theft
Learn how to protect your child’s personal information and what to do if someone steals your child’s identity.
What Is Child Identity Theft?
Child identity theft happens when someone uses a child’s sensitive personal information to get services or benefits, or to commit fraud. They might use your child’s Social Security number, name and address, or date of birth. They could use the stolen information to
- apply for government benefits, like health care coverage or nutrition assistance
- open a bank or credit card account
- apply for a loan
- sign up for a utility service, like water or electricity
- rent a place to live
How To Protect Your Child’s Personal Information
Here’s how to protect your child from identity theft.
Ask questions before giving anyone your child’s Social Security number
If your child’s school asks for your child’s Social Security number, ask these questions:
- Why do you need it?
- How will you protect it?
- Can you use a different identifier?
- Can you use just the last four digits of the Social Security number?
Protect documents with personal information
If you have documents with your child’s personal information, like medical bills or their Social Security card, keep them in a safe place, like a locked file cabinet.
When you decide to get rid of those documents, shred them before you throw them away. If you don’t have a shredder, look for a local shred day.
Delete personal information before disposing of a computer or cell phone
Your computer and phone might have stored personal information about your child. Always delete personal information before you get rid of a computer or a cell phone.
Freeze your child's credit
If your child is under 16, request a free credit freeze to make it harder for someone to open new accounts in your child's name. The freeze stays in place until you tell the credit bureaus to remove it. The process for getting a freeze for a minor is different than getting one for an adult. The credit bureaus give specific instructions at these three sites:
How To Know if Someone Is Using Your Child’s Personal Information
Keep an eye out for warning signs that someone is using your child’s personal information. Here are a few:
- Someone contacts you about your child’s overdue bill, but it’s not an account you opened.
- You’re denied government benefits (like health care coverage or nutrition assistance) because someone is already using your child’s Social Security number to get those benefits.
- You get a letter from the IRS about unpaid income taxes for your child. This could happen if someone used your child’s Social Security number on tax forms for a new job.
- Your child is denied a student loan because your child has bad credit. This could happen if someone used your child’s Social Security number to get a credit card, open a cell phone account, or set up a utility service and hasn’t paid the bills on time or at all.
Check if your child has a credit report
A good way to find out if someone is using your child’s information to commit fraud is to check if your child has a credit report. Generally, a child under 18 won’t have one. To check, contact the three credit bureaus (find their contact information at IdentityTheft.gov) and ask for a manual search for your child's Social Security number. You may have to give the credit bureaus a copy of
- your driver’s license or other government-issued identification card
- proof of your address, like a utility bill, or a credit card or insurance statement
- your child’s birth certificate
- your child’s Social Security card
If you’re not the child’s parent, you may have to give the credit bureaus a copy of documents that prove you’re the child’s legal guardian.
What To Do if Someone Is Using Your Child’s Personal Information
If you discover that someone is using your child’s personal information, here’s what to do right away:
Step 1: Report and close the fraudulent accounts
Contact the companies where fraud happened. Tell each company’s fraud department that someone opened an account using your child’s information and ask them to close the account. Ask for written confirmation that says that your child isn’t responsible for the account.
Contact the three credit bureaus. Tell each credit bureau that someone opened an account using your child’s information. Ask them to remove any fraudulent accounts from your child’s credit report.
Step 2: Freeze your child’s credit report
If your child is under 16, request a free credit freeze, to make it harder for someone to open new accounts in your child's name. The freeze stays in place until you tell the credit bureaus to remove it. (Minors who are 16 or 17 may request and remove a security freeze themselves.)
To activate a credit freeze, contact each of the three credit bureaus. Find their contact information at IdentityTheft.gov.
Step 3: Report child identity theft
Report child identity theft to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov. Include as many details as possible.
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