Child Identity Theft on the Rise
August 18, 2008 – 10:41 amIdentity thieves are always on the prowl for easy targets, but they have recently been turning to a new demographic for identity theft. They are targeting children. Authorities estimate around 500,000 children are victims of identity theft each year. This is why LifeLock offers identity theft protection for children as well as adults. Identity thieves actually prefer children because they are especially vulnerable and they can often steal from them for years before the theft is discovered.
While most people don’t think about children in regards to identity theft, they are becoming prime targets. Children have identities just like adults, and identity thieves can still open up new lines of credit under the name of a child. The biggest difference is that the identities of children are not usually monitored for identity theft. It is often years before the child grows up and starts checking into their credit history. By this time, the thieves have come and gone completely undetected. The identities of children are also especially unsecure. Most schools require they have all their personal information on file in often very low security offices. Some schools even use their social security numbers as student IDs with public visibility. Often credit applications do not have a way to verify the age of the applicant, so thieves can still get credit under the name of a minor.
Because they are such easy targets and identity thieves can do so much damage before they are exposed, the rates of child identity theft are expected to rise. Life Lock offers the only child identity theft protection program for merely $2.25 a month or $22.50 per year if you use our LifeLock promo code, RD 32.
Tags: Child Identity Theft, Identity Theft Victims, Life Lock, LifeLock, LifeLock Promo Code
