Identity theft has become rampant, what with the spread of technology and the ease with which information can be shared nowadays. But many people likely don’t realize that one of the most at-risk demographics for identity theft is children. What’s worse is that instances of child identity theft typically don’t get spotted for years, because kids don’t have a need to apply for jobs or credit cards or house loans. This makes them a perfect target, but there are things you can do to protect your family.
According to the Better Business Bureau, one of the first things you can make sure of is that you don’t carry around the Social Security card of your child. Instead, put it in a safe place and only let children know what their SSN is once they’re ready for the responsibility.
Monitoring your child’s activities on the internet can also go a long way toward protecting their identities. Social networking is more prevalent than ever, but most sties will allow the user to select exactly what they want to share. Explain what is acceptable and what is not to your child, and don’t allow registration for those sites you’re not sure you can trust.
One area where personal information should be safe is in school records, and you’re well within your rights to review your child’s records and ask who has access to those records. Finally, and this applies to adults as well as children, shred any documentation that has information which could be used by identity stealers.