 TITLE: How to Protect Your Child From Identity Theft CONTENT: Identity thieves constantly devise new schemes for tricking victims into giving up personal information, as well as new means of exploiting personal data. As an example, criminals capitalized on the COVID-19 pandemic with bogus assistance offers aimed at capturing personal information, while also using stolen credentials to falsely claim COVID-relief benefits. Criminal resourcefulness makes it difficult to anticipate every approach fraudsters will use, but a set of basic precautions will go far toward preventing child identity theft.\n### Consider Security Freezes on Your Child's Credit Reports\nThere's no reason for most children to have credit reports, since it's illegal for anyone under 16 to apply for a loan or credit card in their own name. Fraudulent loan and credit card applications can generate credit reports, however, and by the time you or the child discovers them, they could be full of unpaid accounts.\nYou can nip this in the bud by requesting a security freeze for your child at each of the three national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). When you request a security freeze, the bureau creates a credit report for your child and then locks it down, so that any lender who attempts to process an application that uses your child's credentials will be denied access to their credit history. This prevents any loans or credit cards from being issued in the child's name. When the child reaches legal age and wants to apply for credit, the freeze can be lifted by contacting each credit bureau individually.\n### Safeguard Children's Social Security Numbers\nYou should never share a child's Social Security number with anyone who doesn't have a very good reason for having it—which means it's smart to ask anyone who requests it why they need it. The IRS requires the child's SSN when you're setting up a 529 college savings plan or claiming your child as a dependent, but their day camp and martial arts academy won't really need it. If they insist, you can refuse and seek services elsewhere, or provide the last four digits of the SSN, but beware: Even the \"last four\" can be useful to identity thieves. Keep your child's Social Security card in a secure place such as a safety deposit box and memorize the number so you don't have to write it down anywhere.\n### Monitor Your Child's Personal Information\nIf your child starts receiving credit offers in the mail, or if you see unexpected activity on their email, phone or bank accounts, their personal information may have been compromised. When you first give your children their own phones, advise them that caller ID can't always be trusted, and calls that appear to be from banks or other trusted institutions may be scams.\nAlthough a phone number may seem innocuous, identity thieves can use your child's phone number to get access to accounts. Many companies use a phone number for identity verification, and caller ID spoofing allows identity thieves to make your child's phone number appear when they call one of these companies. They also use automated callers (hoping to get your child to type in or record information), and some may even impersonate institutions and call your child directly.\n### Pay Attention to  Policies\nPractically all organizations that gather data on kids have privacy policies that detail how the child's private information will be used and protected. Reading these policies can help you identify potential risks to your child's information. If in doubt, never hesitate to ask questions, and don't disclose your child's information if you're not comfortable with what you see in the policy.\n### Use Your Own Personal Information Instead of Your Child's\nIt's easy to share kids' personal information without thinking about it—and kids often are eager to do so—enrolling in a restaurant's birthday club to get free dessert, for example. And even if retailers don't abuse your child's information, none are immune to data theft that can expose kids' personal info. To protect your child's personal information, attach their accounts to your email or phone number, rather than the child's, to help you pick up on any suspicious activity.\n### Avoid Oversharing on Social Media\nIdentity thieves comb social media for personal information—from birthdays and addresses to clues about security questions such as \"What's your first pet's name?\" or \"Where did you go to elementary school?\" Minimizing the amount of information you share about your kids, limiting your sharing options to \"friends\" (rather than \"public\") and confining your circle of \"friends\" to people you trust and know personally can reduce the risk of exposing children's personal information.\n### Monitor Your Child's Social Media and Other Online Activity\nThink carefully and do research before you allow a minor child to have a social media account attached to their real name. Insist that they make you part of their shared network so you can monitor what they're sharing and with whom. And keep in mind that your child may have access to the internet and smartphones at school or friends' houses, even if you limit or forbid those activities at home. Explain to your children why you're concerned, and advise them on the kinds of information they should never disclose.\n### Keep Your Home Safe\nA burglary that results in theft of birth certificates, passports or Social Security cards could enable child identity theft. Always lock doors and windows, set an alarm if you have one, and keep valuable documents offsite, in a safety deposit box or in a safe. (A strongbox could protect your documents in case of fire, but a thief could easily take it away.)\n### Teach Your Children Well\nIt's important for kids to understand identity theft risks. Find age-appropriate ways to talk to children about the topic. Make them aware that phone calls, text messages and emails aren't always from who they purport to be, and that they should check with you before responding to any of those that seek personal information. Let them know it's OK to hang up on an adult who asks for sensitive information, no matter who they claim to be. END