Child ID Theft a growing problem

Child ID theft is growing problem

They’re told not to play with matches. They’re warned not to talk to strangers. But this is one crime it’s tough to protect them from. Children are the newest victims of identity fraud — and sometimes, they don’t even know they’ve been exploited. “Think of them as a tabula rasa. There is nothing more delicious to an identity thief or scammer than to get a Social Security number and information for a child,” said Adam Levin, the author of “Swiped” and the chairman and founder of the identity protection and breach recovery firm IDT911. “In some cases, you can have a 15-year or more run where no one’s looking.” Thieves steal their Social Security numbers or cobble together information from seemingly innocent social media profiles, school rosters and other sources of juicily useful tidbits including dates of birth, locations and parents’ names, to put together believable profiles, a practice called synthetic identity theft. About 1.3 million kids are affected annually and 50% are younger than 6, according to Robert Chappell Jr., a 30-year law-enforcement veteran and author of the book “Child Identity Theft: What Every Parent Needs to Know.” At least one study showed child credit and Social Security numbers abused at a rate 51 times greater than the adult population. A handful of scammers will hunt through cemeteries for children’s graves in an effort to find leads for old or dormant Social Security numbers, a new riff on the so-called “Day of the Jackal” scam, which refers to a 1970s-era movie that featured a bad guy creating a fake identity. “There are so many different opportunities, school programs where Social Security numbers are unfortunately given away like rose petals flung in the wind. As a result, they’re out there and vulnerable,” Levin said. “Identity thieves are patient, persistent and creative. Any particle of information they can find and use to find other pieces of info, build a mosaic until they create whoever they wish to create.” The luckier kiddie victims find out about having had their identities compromised, though they discover it only by accident. For example, debt collectors call their homes or pre-approved credit cards start arriving by mail or their parents’ tax return is rejected due to an already-claimed dependent. For others, the news hits out of nowhere, like when they’re applying for some form of credit, such as their first Visa or MasterCard. At that point, years of damage have blackened their credit history. Last week, Shon Shurter found out his 16-year-old daughter’s identity was compromised. (The Free Press does not name children who are victims of crime.) The Columbus, Neb., father suspected something was up when his 25-year-old adopted son got a letter in the mail from an online payday loan company about owing money — which he’d never borrowed. Shurter grew worried about his two minor children, the teen and an 8-year-old son. He called one of the three credit reporting agencies and was told the little boy’s credit was fine. When the customer service representative looked into this daughter’s file, the tone of the conversation changed. That’s when Shurter said he knew it was bad. “At first, my heart sank. I’m pissed and I’m going to do something,” the 46-year-old said, recalling how he felt in that moment. The trouble had started days after her birthday. Shurter has no plans to tell the 11th-grader what’s happened to her, though she is likely to find out soon. “It’s my job as a father to protect my children and I’m angry, too, and I want to fix it and I can’t fix it. I’m in limbo. I’m unable to do anything,” he said. “This will affect my daughter’s ability to get a student loan for college or to get a car after high school or to get her own cell phone. It will affect her for the rest of her life.” He’s begun the process of filing a police report, alerting credit agencies and contacting creditors. Cleaning up the mess can take years, if the damage is extensive. —freep.com