There are several reasons for the increasing numbers of child identity thefts but by and large it’s due to the attractive nature of the crime.  Kids have unblemished credit records because they rarely need to actually have a credit record.  It’s only when they go to college that most kids do need credit.  The other reason why it’s so attractive to criminals is that the crime can go unnoticed for quite sometime.  Most kids won’t have to apply for various credit based facilities or for their drivers license until they’re at least 16 or above – Giving the criminals the ability to use the identity theft for multiple purposes for a length period of time.

The first moment that you’ll probably discover that your child’s identity is stolen can occur when your child first applies for a driver’s license.  The process of picking up a driver’s license requires that certain checks be made and a notification of a bad credit history will pop up in that event.

In order to protect your child from identify theft there’s a number of different things you can do to ensure its security.  First and foremost never reveal to anyone your child’s social security number. Never reveal it to anyone unless you have to by law and certainly avoid putting it on any paper work that in actual fact doesn’t even require it.  Ensure that even if the school or similar organization requests it, ask why, and ensure that in real terms you don’t have to reveal it.  Next, ensure you never reveal the number to anyone including grandparents, other relatives or family friends.  The sad part about this is the fact that most times when a child’s identity is stolen, it’s done by someone you or the child knows.  Make sure you destroy and shred all papers pertaining to the child’s identity that aren’t required anymore.  This is important; do not just throw them in the bin.  Shred and destroy.  Do not carry around the child’s social security number in your wallet or purse.  If the wallet or purse get’s stolen, you can pretty much say goodbye to your child’s credit rating.  Disallow you child from entering any marketing contests online, or divulge any personal information to anyone in any chat room, internet forum or in any similar environment.  This has to be drilled into the child so that they understand the importance of personal data and information.

If you think even for a moment that there’s a slight chance of your child’s identity being stolen, contact the Federal Trade Commission Theft ID Hotline:  877-438-4338.

Children are oblivious to danger
In this case, you need to ensure that if your child is engaged with any social networking sites then he puts the profile on “private” mode. This is so that only your child’s friends will be allowed to view their personal information. In addition, no strangers will be permitted. You should also know that even you are not permitted to get access to your child’s account unless you have yourself listed as one of the friends, or you get in using the main password. It saves your child’s identity from staying open to every other stranger.

Students hiding-out from their parents
Students in high schools can create multiple profiles, as they can easily create multiple accounts having different email addresses. Say one at yahoo, the second at MSN, third at Google and the list goes on. There are no restrictions as the websites offer sigh-ups free of cost. Students do use this very technique to hide out from parents, or any other specified group of people. Generally, all high school information is placed in the profile, which is disclosed to their parents. There are some other accounts for friends only, where they share the stuff they don’t want their parents to know. In order to obtain profiles of all the accounts verify the key logger section under software.

Children should be aware of fake identity
It’s the job of parents to ensure that their children are aware of fake identities exposed by many people. There is no specific way to confirm that the created profile contains genuine identity. It is possible that online browsers setting up a profile with fake names, address, inaccurate birth date, along with uploading fake pictures. However, they can communicate with your children via online instant messages, and act as if they are among their age group. Thus, if your child is a little aware while making friends, then it can surely assist them to protect identity at social networking websites.

Major situations are highlighted above that can protect your child’s identity. However, keep in mind that in social websites there are more threats. You need to make sure once again; the computer is placed in a public area, instead of allowing your son to spend tons of time at the computer in his bedroom. Secondly, try to keep up with what your child is doing online, and what are the websites he’s visiting. Just make them let you check whatever they are doing, and don’t do the mistake of turning a blind-eye to their web-activities. Bear in mind that is your responsibility to protect your children’s identity.

It has been noted that children are at a higher risk of falling to traps set by identity thieves compared to their parents for one simple reason; not many know what identity theft is and the ways to avoid it. This makes children a prime target for identity thieves. The situation involving children can go for a long time without being detected. The problem may surface later when the child is grown up and wants to apply for credit, rent a property, or secure a job. An ID thief may need just the Social Security number of your child to apply online for various products or services. The other details may not be very important and experienced thieves will always come up with fake details which work in most cases. These show that you need to take care of your children’s identity to save him or her from the agony of ID theft schemes.

Start by regularly checking the credit reports of your son or daughter, if he or she has one. Experts advise that children should not be allowed to have credit reports until they are mature enough to take care of their sensitive personal information. You should consider enrolling the kid’s credit card in a credit protection program which will inform you when attempts to misuse the credit card are being made.

Teach the kids the importance of safeguarding personal information, especially on social media sites where most of them are likely to be enrolled. A name and date of birth may be enough information to land them in an ID theft scheme. Encourage them to share suspicious email messages with credit card offers as they are what many thieves use to lure innocent victims.

Lastly, keep the children’s important documents such as report cards, registration forms e.t.c in locked cabinets or safes. Until your child is old enough to protect their own identity, it is your job as the parent to do this for them.