ITRC: Children, Breaches, and Fraud Alerts

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Recent published accounts of the data breach, reported by the Arizona Department of Economic Security and affecting over 40,000 children and families, quoted LifeLock CEO Todd Davis with the suggestion of placing a fraud alert for children under the age of 18. This information, while correct for adults, is inaccurate for children.

Children, or minors, typically do not have credit reports unless they are already victims of identity theft or have opened lines of credit. A contract with a minor is not legally enforceable by law, therefore a minor should not have a credit file. Thus, placing a fraud alert on a non-existent credit file should not be possible. A credit file is only created when a person opens their first line of credit.

ITRC recommendations for when a child’s personal information is exposed:

• Write each of the Credit Reporting Agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) to see if there is a credit file in the child’s Social Security Number. If a file exists, expect that the name, address and date of birth will not reflect the child’s true information. The best news to receive about a child would be an answer of “there is no report,” meaning that a credit file has not been opened. ITRC recommends that you do this about 60 days after receiving a breach notification letter to allow time for potential thieves to take action.

• Place the following items in the cover letter to the Credit Reporting Agencies:
  • Child's full name
  • Child's Social Security Number
  • Parent's name and address
  • The relationship to the child or children in question, including any documentation showing legal custody of the child
  • Request a search for a credit report in the child’s Social Security Number
  • Additionally, send photocopies of driver’s license or a photo ID card, the child’s birth certificate (showing you as a parent) and the child’s Social Security card
• Request that a copy of the credit report, if one exists, be mailed immediately.
• All correspondence must be sent certified, return receipt mail. This is the only way to prove delivery of your request to the Credit Reporting Agency.
• If a credit file exists for the child, then place a FRAUD ALERT on the credit file, and also file a police report for child identity theft.
• If news is received from the CRA’s that no credit report exists, check again when the child reaches 16 years of age, then again when they reach 17.

Do not order a credit report on a child unless there is a reason to do so, especially on a yearly basis. If there is no reason to suspect child identity theft, the multiple inquiries themselves might cause problems by creating a credit report. If a credit report is created by multiple inquiries, then credit issuers see there is an existing report, and are more likely to believe the imposter is truly the consumer.

For more information on requesting a credit report for your child, visit the ITRC website. On this website you will also find information about breaches, child identity theft, and parent warning signs of child identity theft. http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish /v_fact_sheets/Fact_Sheet_120_A_-.shtml (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

For more information about child identity theft, visit www.childrenscreditcrisis.com to download the first comprehensive study on child ID theft.

About the ITRC

The Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft in resolving their cases, and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft. It is the on-going mission of the ITRC to assist victims, educate consumers, research identity theft and increase public and corporate awareness about this problem. Visit www.idtheftcenter.org.