It’s difficult to comprehend at the moment the massive rise and high incidence of children suffering from identity theft.  The practice of borrowing their identities and racking up thousands of dollars worth of debt, getting driver’s licenses, passing corrupted checks or even defaulting on bank mortgages that the criminal has taken out in the kids names, all seem to be occurring. 400,000 cases each year are reported to the Federal Trade Commission and that’s only the ones we know about.  The actual figure is probably much higher.

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. Practicing safe Identity Protection is a must.

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.

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