It does not make logical sense. Why would anyone want to steal the identity of a teen or even younger children, who in all likelihood don't even have credit established yet? It happens and it is growing for some bizarre reasons, which is a good reason for you to talk to your kids about identity theft and protecting their personal information.
Identity theft expert and LifeLock CEO Todd Davis says that this younger crowd have a lot of earning potential in their lifetime, so they can be issued more credit because they have so much longer to pay it back. He goes on to say that younger folks are not nearly as aware as their parents about credit reports and credit histories, and of course the identity thieves know that. These kids are using the social networking sites like crazy, where sharing personal information is done every day with minimums of caution, even to people they don't know, which could include someone posing as a 12 year old boy on the other side of the country, but who is reality is a 45 year old man ready to steal their identity.
Parents should contact the three major credit bureaus, which include Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion about once a quarter and attempt to get a copy of their child's credit report. What it should say is that the report does not exist because the child does not have credit established, or if they do have credit established, you as their parent are probably well aware of it. But if a report does exist, there is a chance that someone used the child's identity to apply for and receive a credit card or department store account.
Authorities have been scouring the Internet for a long time. Since teens today seem to be online all the time, they're constantly receiving scams or sharing information with their online friends. That is a fact of life today, which is also known to the authorities as well as people like pedophiles, and many pedophiles have been apprehended that way. But the same opportunities with "meeting" someone online go hand in hand with allowing it to be used for sharing too much information and allowing identity theft to occur.
College students are particularly vulnerable in many ways. For many of them, it is the first time they have lived away from home for an extended period of time, and perhaps the first time they have had roommates. They are in and out of their dorms so much and can leave papers laying around, which may include credit card offers, which contain enough information in many cases to allow identity theft to happen.
Consumers can have fraud alerts put on their credit reports, and have their names removed from all the junk mail lists and credit card offers. Although consumers can do this themselves at no cost, there is a hassle factor involved and knowing that you have done it right. Based on that, Davis' company will do all this for you for about $10 a month, plus give you protection up to $1 million.
Consumer protection director Mike Bannon says he is on the fence about allowing a company like LifeLock to provide that service, since consumers can do it themselves at no cost. But he continues to say that if it helps you sleep at night to have a professional do it and know it's been done right, it could be worth it.
For more information about
Identity Theft as well as more information about
Identity Theft Protection Services please visit our web site at http://www.identity-theft-info.com
