According to the Federal Trade Commission has an estimated half a million children who joined their ranks last year with the unfortunate distinction of becoming victims of identity theft. In advocacy group called Identify Theft Resource Center relatives, as the participation of more than half of child identity theft cases reported in the United States in 2006.

It should be noted, however, a thief is not always someone who knows the child. He is suspected of this resource center that identity theft is growing so rapidly children precisely because children are such good purpose. Moreover, they believe children are victims because they tend to have an impeccable record, and because they do not use their credit and, as such, the crime can go unnoticed for years.

Now that the majority of children who by law are social security numbers, thieves have found they can be the easiest target of all. Thieves have years to manipulate these identity and create significant damage. Infants and children remain profitable purpose because they typically do not use their social security numbers, until their late adolescents and disclose the theft problem when applying for a first job, a student loan or credit card. When families and their children finally learned, the burden of proof is on them.

Some of the most common tactics of identity theft (but not limited to), parents are using their children's' Social Security numbers to open new credit accounts, and "garbage diving" thieves stealing credit mistakenly sent to children too young to use the application itself.

Helen Simmonds, a detective for the local police were handling identity theft investigation. It was noted that almost all the Social Security numbers issued in the early 1990's to the child who is now turning 16, 17 and 18, and tried to get a loan for the first time. It is believed by investigators that there will be an epidemic [in such cases] is not only at the local level, however, the entire nation.

Then it must recognise not surprising that credit monitoring services are beginning to target interested parents offering to monitor children's identity. At LifeLock, credit monitoring for your child costs only $ 25 a year, in addition to the $ 10 monthly charge for adults. LifeLock also take measures mainly Social Security Administration audit annually on behalf of the child, to see if there is any work connected with the history of the child identification number.

The representative of the SSA said that parents can simply call their local Social Security office and get that information for free. However, as concerned parents and consumers need to know if a thief uses your child's Social Security number, but with a different name then your child, the SSA does not find the corresponding entry for their progeny.

One of the major credit reporting agencies: Experian - recently FamilySecure monitoring service that alerts parents as soon as who applies for a loan, using the name of her child. However, the $ 19.95 per month, the cost may be a bit cumbersome for many family budgets.