Children are easy target for so many crimes and that includes identity theft. However, with identity theft, because children do not have jobs or a reason to monitor their credit, it could be many years later before you or your child discover the theft. In that amount of time, the thief can damage your child’s credit and employment history as well as develop a criminal record in your child’s name.

I will admit that my husband and I are both a bit paranoid about identity theft for ourselves – to the point that we maintain a permanent freeze on our credit reports and we check our reports often. But how would a parent know if their child’s identity was in jeopardy or how would a grandparent know if a delinquent parent was using their grandchild’s identity? According to the TransUnion website, one of the three credit reporting companies, you should be suspicious of identity theft for your child if one of the following happens:
• Your child begins to receive suspicious mail, like pre-approved credit cards and other financial offers normally sent to adults, in his/her own name.
• You try to open a financial account for him/her but find one already exists, or the application is denied because of a poor credit history.
• A credit report already exists in his/her name. If the child has one, he/she probably has been targeted already, since only an application for credit starts a report.
To learn more about how to investigate if you suspect that your child’s identity has been stolen, check out this page on the TransUnion website :
https://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/fraudIdentityTheft/fraudPrevention/childIdTheft.page

Meanwhile, I would advise keeping your child’s social security number secure because that is where identity theft begins.