Trick or Treating for Identities
Halloween is here and parents everywhere are once again doing everything they can to protect their children from harm. From mothers sending kids out with flashlights, to dad’s checking and sometimes ‘re-checking’ the nights haul, it is clear that times are changing. It used to be the worst thing that could happen to your child’s night of trick or treating was the occasional toothbrush or floss given by the neighborhood dentist. Unfortunately for all the families, parents have another threat to worry about this season and all year long - identity theft.
We have all heard the expression, “like taking candy from a baby,” but few stop to question why identity thieves would target a child. The real question being, “What could anyone possibly want to take from a child?” They have no wallet or purse outside of the old hand-me-down or Velcro one stuffed with candy and doodles and the estranged assortment of missing household knickknacks.
However, the grim reality of the matter is that your child possesses something that thieves are after - their identity. Whether for financial, medical, or criminal means, your child’s identity has been the target of identity thieves as early as 2004 if not sooner. According to the Federal Trade Commission in 2004, those under the age of 18 were the number one targets for the crime. Now four years later, it comes as no surprise that as the crime has grown the targeted victims have not. Among the many reasons for going after a child the three largest are quite simple:
- Children have a clean line of credit - mom and dad might not have bad credit but with a child the thief is guaranteed a certain amount.
- Kids don’t check - no one believes a two year old will get on the phone or online and check their credit report; however, very few parents are willing to take on the job either leaving more time for thieves to get away.
- Getting information from a child is a lot simpler than from an adult - you might not be fooled by free car raffle and may already have a job, young individuals are constantly solicited for their personal information by websites, contests, and even job applications.
While simple enough to figure out, parents should then recognize in this simple list the many ways in which they can then empower themselves to do more this year to keep their children safe. From the start, parents ought to make a conscious choice about whether or not to go it alone and protect their kids, or to solicit help and enlist the aid of a private company. For many parents they can drastically reduce the risk to their children simply by checking their credit at least once a year. Unfortunately this doesn’t prevent the thieves from targeting children, but the simple act of checking can reduce the cost and time of correcting the crime by four times and three months respectively.
Parents, as you prepare your children for a night of ghosts, goblins and treats, start also thinking about those identity thieves that are lurking for the personal information of your children.