By Lynda Spence, Family & Consumer Sciences Extension Agent at UF/IFAS Extension-Marion County
Reviewed by Martie Gillen, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
Saturday morning was finally here! With adolescent energy, Geneviève filled out her first job application ever. It was for a counter position at her uncle’s dry cleaning business. She was proud to be so grown-up that she could fill out a job application, and she was confident she had the job–her Uncle Skip was sure she hung the moon.
The call came on Monday. “Hi, Geneviève. This is Uncle Skip. Can you and your mom come over after school?” Of course she could–and she knew her mother would want to join them to celebrate the milestone. Geneviève was sure her uncle was about to tell her she had gotten the job.
Kid Victims of Identity Theft
To her shock and dismay, the news was not good–far from it. Geneviève and her mother were about to learn that her credit check had come back with problems. In fact, her credit was in the gutter. Unbeknownst to her and her mother, her identity had been stolen five years earlier. The fraudster had opened four credit cards in her name (when Geneviève was 10 years old!), maxed them out, and left her identity in the dust as he or she moved on to another youthful victim. Because most emerging adults aren’t in the habit of checking their credit reports until they apply for a job, loan, or rent an apartment, the crime can go undetected for years, sometimes even decades.
A New FL Law Can Help
Unfortunately, more than 50,000 Florida youth are victims of identity theft annually, costing lenders and consumers more than 100 million dollars. Well, enough is enough! The Keeping I.D. Safe law was passed during the 2014 legislative session. The KIDS law allows parents or legal guardians to open a credit file with a major consumer credit bureau in their child’s name and then immediately put a freeze on the account.
Freeze Your Child’s Credit
A credit freeze means that it becomes difficult for anyone to access your child’s credit report, which makes it hard for an identity thief to fraudulently open an account in your child’s name. Credit freezes can be inconvenient for adults, but should not affect children. The freeze can be removed at any time, or when the child reaches age 18. (To learn more about credit freezes and what it means to freeze someone’s credit, visit Credit Freeze FAQs, from the Federal Trade Commission. )
To freeze your child’s credit, you will need to submit a letter and copies of important documents regarding your child, such as his or her birth certificate and Social Security card, to each of three major credit bureaus. The fee is $10 per child per credit bureau. If a child has already been a victim of identity theft, the fee is waived.
With one bureau, TransUnion, you will also need to submit a notarized “description of authority” over the child. This is simply a statement by you that you are the child’s legal parent or guardian and that you have had notarized by a notary public. While this may sound cumbersome, you can easily get documents notarized at UPS stores and your bank for a very small fee—just a few dollars.
So here you are, already online reading this blog. Before you move on to another activity, visit Protect Your Child’s Identity to learn about how to protect your child’s credit. You will find template letters and other helpful information on the site. You will be glad you did. And when the time comes for that first credit check, your child will thank you.
Want to do more? Go to MySocialSecurity to learn if anyone is using your child’s Social Security number for his or her employment purposes.
Security freezes for minor children are also available in many other states at a fee of $10 or less. If you live outside of Florida and want to know if this option is available to you, review the information on the following pages for the three major credit bureaus:
(Photo credit: Credit Card Theft by Don Hankins. CC BY 2.0.)
Further Reading
Protect Your Child From Identity Theft Toolkit FAQ
References:
Federal Trade Commission. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (2014). Protect your child’s identity. Retrieved from http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Consumer-Resources/Consumer-Protection/Protect-Your-Child-s-Identity
Social Security. (n.d.) My Social Security. Retrieved from http://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/
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