Children Identity Theft

I'm Ilyce Glink with expertrealestatetips.net. You know when it comes to my kids I'll do anything to make sure that they're safe and secure.
 

But most parents don't even realize that your child's identity could be stolen and it's happening right under your nose.

One of the things that you're going to want to do is make sure that your child's identity is safe. Here's how:

If you have caller i.d. you probably like being able to see who's calling you, even if your child doesn't give you the message. If your child's name appears on your caller i.d. when a family member calls you, it's a red flag that something's wrong. Your family member may have used your child's name to open up a telephone account.

Another red flag is if you take your teenager to get a driver's license only to be asked "what happened to the other one?" if someone has taken out a driver's license in your child's name, contact your D-M-V.

If you take your teenager to open up a bank account and you find that someone else has been bouncing checks with your child's name on them, you'll need to follow up and file an identity theft report.

Finally if you file your taxes and your form gets bounced because someone else has used your child's social security number as a dependent, you've got a problem.

According to the identity theft resource center, child identity theft isn't typically discovered for years until after your child applies for a credit card or a driver's license.

If you think your child's identity has been stolen go to Annual Credit Report dot com and get a copy of his or her credit history. If there's fraudulent information on it or if accounts have been opened in your child's name, you can go to the police station and file a police report. But you can also go to the three credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and ask them to place a freeze on your child's credit history.

For more real estate and personal finance information visit my Web site, expertrealestatetips.net.

This video is also available on YouTube: Video: Children Identity Theft

Have you subscribed to Ilyce's YouTube channel? To get priority access to new videos, you'll need to subscribe to Ilyce's channel or you can visit her ExpertRealEstateTips channel at www.youtube.com/expertrealestatetips.

NOTE: This video transcript is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This content may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher.