If you are a parent, grandparent or have friends with small children, there's something important you need to know about.
One of the hottest areas for identity thieves right now is stealing the identity of young children. It's a crime that's happening to infants and toddlers everyday.
Children should be busy playing, not worrying about their personal information. Yet while they play, thieves are trying to steal their social security numbers. "A child's social security number is not only a big business, it's big money," said Linda Foley, an identity theft expert.
Identity theft experts say as many as 10 percent of all children have had their identity stolen. "A child is an excellent target cause there is an 18 year window of opportunity to use that information without it normally going detected," Foley said.
In that time, an ID thief could use it to take out a loan, get a driver's license or apply for a job. "It would never even cross your mind to have to worry about her social security, her identity, that's the furthest thing from my mind as a mom right now," said Tiffany Navarro, a mother.
Meanwhile, parents are applying for their children's social security numbers for taxes and other documentation, never thinking that their children's identity could be at risk. "And you worry about them running across the street or you worry about them getting stolen at the park but you don't that their social security number is getting taken by some person on a computer," said Rachel Northcutt, a mother.
You would think it would be obvious that a 27-year-old man is not going to have the social security number of a 5-year-old girl, but employers have no way of checking. "Most employers don't do background checks," Foley said. Even if they did, those social security numbers don't really tell much about the age or gender of the person. Little can be done by an employer or lender to link the number with the real person whether they are 40-years-old or 4 days old.
So what should you do to protect your children's social security number? First and easiest, don't carry it with you. Don't let a lost purse or wallet put your child's identity at risk. And when it comes to giving out your children's social security numbers, be stingy. Does the soccer team really need it and why? Is it required to sign your child up for school. Ask and protect those numbers.
Do you worry about protecting your child's identity? Have you ever been skeptical about someone asking for your child's social security number? What more should be done to keep kids ID's safe? Leave your thoughts below.
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Information courtesy of NBC News
