WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SubscriberWise, the nation’s largest issuing CRA for the communications industry and the leading protector of children victimized by identity fraud, announced today unsurprising but critical conclusions that children from financially struggling families are victimized by identity fraud in numbers that utterly dwarf children from homes where caretakers have financial resources and options.
The news follows a new case of child identity fraud – among hundreds and hundreds of similar cases previously exposed by SubscriberWise since 2006 – which was uncovered after a young adult, who just moved out of her home and applied for internet service, discovered that she was victimized years ago when she was just a baby-girl in diapers.
“As I’ve done so many times over the past decade or so, I’ll once again let the criminal victimization from this latest child-crime revelation speak for itself (https://soundcloud.com/user-370781554/01-04-18-09-19-25a-toddler-id-fraud),” said David Howe, SubscriberWise founder. “And while on first glance this crime doesn’t reveal immediate insight about the financial situation of either the victim or her perpetrator, on closer examination the details are undeniable.
“Unfortunately, and like all previous cases I’ve been involved, the perpetrator – a parent, guardian, or relative in every case – is struggling with difficult to desperate financial hardship as evidenced by extremely adverse credit reports and scores.
“Of course, this challenging money and credit dilemma is exactly why children are routinely victimized every day in the U.S.A.,” emphasized Howe.
“For the record, it’s not because of bad intent or neglect,” continued Howe. “It’s also not because there is a desire to harm a child or defraud a creditor. Rather, the reasons are obvious. It’s because the perpetrator – the parent, guardian, or relative – she or he can’t meet an existing obligation at the same time there is an outstanding obligation with the same service provider that is subjected to the behavior.
“It’s also because of ignorance regarding the very real and negative future consequences that the child will often suffer as a young adult, just like the situation with this recent victim (https://soundcloud.com/user-370781554/01-04-18-09-19-25a-toddler-id-fraud),” Howe confirmed.
“And to be certain, child identity theft has remained an unabated crime impacting more than 200 children every day because Congress has failed to implement common-sense technology solutions that would dramatically reduce the occurrence.
Related: Common Sense Approach to End Child Identity Theft
“But how can I conclude that the crime and victimization are related to poverty and financial hardship in every case,” asked Howe rhetorically?
“Because I’ve had the opportunity to review nearly 100,000 individual consumer reports and scores over the past decade and a half. And in every instance involving a child identity crime – specifically where the parent or guardian is involved and has acknowledged the crime or has been criminally convicted - the mathematical models and subscriber segmentation reveal that these cases all involve consumers whose credit ratings are in the bottom 25 percent of the adult credit consuming population.
“In fact, in most cases they’re in the bottom 10 percent,” Howe noted. “And that’s another way of saying these caretakers are in a financial crisis at the very moment a reckless decision to engage in federal SSN and application fraud is made involving a child who is otherwise loved and cared for by the very individual perpetrating the harm.
“For several years now, the government has been voicing to its citizens ‘If you see something then say something’. I appreciate this message and have heard it many times before,” Howe concluded. “And I pay attention to this message, believe me. So today I’m letting President Trump and Congress know that the Credit Czar has seen plenty and will continue to say plenty until this critical child safety concern is given the attention and resources it desperately deserves.”
About SubscriberWise
SubscriberWise® launched as the first U.S. issuing consumer reporting agency exclusively for the cable industry in 2006. In 2009, SubscriberWise and TransUnion announced a joint marketing agreement for the benefit of America's independent cable operators. Today SubscriberWise is a risk management preferred-solutions provider for the National Cable Television Cooperative.
SubscriberWise contributions to the communications industry are quantified in the billions of dollars annually.
SubscriberWise is a U.S.A. federally registered trademark of the SubscriberWise Limited Liability Co.