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May 2012 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FTC.GOV/IDTHEFT

Child Identity TheftChild identy the happens when someone uses a minors personal informaon to commit fraud. A thief may

steal and use a childs informaon to get a job, government benets, medical care, ulies, car loans, or a

mortgage. Avoiding, discovering, and undoing the damage resulng from the the of a childs identy can be

a challenge.

Adults can monitor their own credit reports every few months to see if someone has misused their informaon,and order a fraud alert or freeze on their credit les to stymie further misuse. But most parents and guardians

dont expect their youngster to have a credit le, and as a result, rarely request a childs credit report, let alone

review it for accuracy. A thief who steals a childs informaon may use it for many years before the crime

is discovered. The vicm may learn about the the years later, when applying for a loan, apartment, or job.

Protecting Your Childs IdentityKeep Your Childs Personal Information Safe

Parents do a lot to protect their children from physical harm, from teaching them to look both ways before

crossing the street to making sure theyre dressed warmly for a snowy day. Protecng their personal informaon

is important, too. Heres how:

Keep all documents that show a childs personal informaon safely locked up. What is personal

informaon? At a minimum, it includes a childs date of birth, Social Security number, and birth cercate.

Dont carry your childs Social Security card with you.

Share your childs Social Security number only when you know and trust the other party. If someone asks

for your childs Social Security number, ask why they want it, how theyll safeguard it, how long theyll keep

it, and how theyll dispose of it. If youre not sased with the answers, dont share the number. Ask to useanother idener.

Before you share personal informaon on the internet, make sure you have a secure connecon.

A secure website has a lock icon in the address bar and a URL that begins with hps.

Use a computer with updated anvirus and rewall protecon. Dont send personal or nancial informaon

your childs or your own, for that maer through an unsecured wireless connecon

in a public place.

SAFEGUARDINGYOUR CHILDS FUTURE

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If you use a password to sign into a website, log out of the site when youre done on that site.

Limit the chances that your childs informaon will be stolen or misused at school. Find out who has access

to your childs personal informaon, and read the noces that schools are required to send explaining yourrights under the Family Educaonal Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). That law protects the privacy of student

educaon records, and gives you the right to opt out of the release of directory informaon to third pares,

including other families.

Safely Dispose of Personal Information

Your trash could be a treasure trove of informaon for an identy thief. Before you get rid of informaon on

paper or online, make sure no one else can use it.

Shred leers, forms, and other papers that include your childs personal informaon before you throw them out.Delete electronic computer les that you no longer need, and empty your online trash or recycle bin.

Learn how to remove your personal or nancial informaon that might be stored on your computer, cell phone,

or other device before you dispose of it.

Share Safety Tips With Your Child

Your computer can hold enormous amounts of informaon, and its crucial that it stays secure. Talk to your child

about best pracces for computer security, including:

using strong passwords those with at least eight characters, as well as numbers and symbols

keeping passwords private

knowing the risks of sharing les through peer to peer soware, which may include giving someone access

to more informaon on your computer than you want to share

using an-virus soware that updates automacally

being alert to phishing scams, where criminals send an email, text, or pop-up message that looks like its

from a legimate organizaon. A phishing message asks the recipient to click on a link or call a phone

number, and to share personal informaon for a prize or some other benet. The message to kids: delete

these messages without opening or responding.

Talk with your child regularly about the privacy sengs on social media sites and what informaon and photos

to share on them. For example, its not a great idea to show photos with school or team uniforms, list birth dates

or specic locaons, or show background sengs that are easy to idenfy. One reason? Someone can use the

informaon posted on a social media prole to guess account passwords.

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Warning Signs of Child Identity Theft

Personal circumstances may increase the risk of child identy the an adult in nancial hot water, for example,

may think adopng a childs identy is a way to start over. But using someone elses identy, regardless of the

reason, is a crime. Identy the can be commied by a family member, a neighbor, or by someone you never met

who gets access to your childs informaon. Several signs can p you o to a problem:

You get calls from collecon agencies, bills from credit card companies or medical providers, or oers for

credit cards or bank account checks in your childs name, even if your child has never applied for or used

these services.

Your child, or your family, is denied government benets because benets are being paid to another

account that is using your childs Social Security number.

The Social Security Administraon, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or some other government agency asks

you to conrm that your child is employed, even though your child has never had a job.

Aer you le a tax return lisng your dependent childs name and Social Security number, you get noce

from the IRS that the same informaon is listed on another tax return.

Your child gets a noce from the IRS saying he or she failed to pay taxes on income, even though your child

has no income.

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Does Your Child Have a Credit Report?

You may want to check whether your child has a credit report. Decide how oen to check based on whether

you think informaon is at risk. For example, if you see warning signs, lost your childs Social Security card, had a

break-in, or your childs informaon was compromised in a data breach, you may want to check whether there is

a report using your childs name or informaon. Check at least as oen as the law entles you to do it for free.

Its a good idea to check whether your child has a credit report close to the childs 16th birthday, which is

probably before the child applies for a tuion or car loan, apartment, or job. If you nd a report with errors, you

can work on correcng the errors before the child needs credit.

There are three naonwide credit reporng companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Contact each credit

reporng company and ask it to search to see if your child has a credit report. Each company will check for les

related to your childs name and Social Security number, and also for les related only to the Social Securitynumber. You must provide the credit reporng companies with proof that you are the childs parent or legal

guardian.

HOW TO CHECK FOR YOUR CHILDS CREDIT REPORT

STEP BY STEP: NOTES:

Contact each credit

reporng company. Equifax18005256285

Experian18883973742

[email protected]

Ask each company to search for your child s credit report.

Ask for a manual search based only on the childs Social Securitynumber.

Provide proof that you

are the childs parent or

legal guardian.

Include a cover leer with the childs full name, date of birth, and homeaddresses for the last ve years.

The credit reporng companies may require copies of:

the childs birth cercate lisng the parents

the childs Social Security card your government-issued idencaon card, like a drivers license or

military idencaon, or copies of documents proving you are thechilds legal guardian

proof of your address, like a ulity bill, or a credit card or insurancestatement

Ask each company for its mailing address.

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YOUR CHILDS IDENTITY

HAS BEEN STOLEN: WHAT NOW?

Somemes, no maer how diligent you are about protecng personal informaon, it gets lost, stolen, or hacked.

If that happens, follow these steps:

Alert Each Credit Reporting Company

Contact each of the three naonwide credit reporng companies. Explain that your child is a minor, and cant

legally enter into any type of contract. Ask each company for its mailing address. To prove that your child is a

minor, send the credit reporng companies a completed copy of the Uniform Minors Status Declaraon (page 11).

Next, send a leer to each credit reporng company. Ask them to remove all accounts, account inquiries, and

collecon noces from the credit le associated with your childs name or personal informaon.

HOW TO ALERT THE CREDIT REPORTING COMPANIES


Contact each credit


Experian18883973742

[email protected]

Explain to each company that your child is a minor.

Provide proof that your

child is a minor. Send each of the credit reporng companies a completed copy of the

Uniform Minors Status Declaraon (page 11).


Send a leer to each

credit reporng company.Ask them to remove all items associated with your childs name or personalinformaon, including:

accounts

account inquiries

collecon noces

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Place an Initial Fraud Alert

If a credit le was created for your child as a result of identy the, consider placing an inial fraud alert on the

credit le. An inial fraud alert requires potenal creditors to verify a persons identy before extending credit.

When a creditor knows that a minor is involved, it will not ordinarily extend credit.

To place an inial fraud alert, contact any one of the three credit reporng companies. The company you contact

must contact the other two companies. All three will place an inial fraud alert on the le they have for your

child. Aer you place the inial fraud alert, the credit reporng company will explain your rights, including your

right to get a free copy of your childs credit report from each credit reporng company.

HOW TO PLACE A FRAUD ALERTSTEP BY STEP: NOTES:

Contact one credit


Experian18883973742

TransUnion18006807289

Ask the company to put a fraud alert on your childs credit le.

Conrm that the company you call will contact the other twocompanies.

Placing the inial fraud alert is free. Give the credit reporng companyyour contact informaon so they can reach you.

Learn about your rights. Credit reporng company sta will explain that you can get a free copy of

your childs credit report and other rights that you have.

Mark your calendar. The inial fraud alert stays on your childs le for 90 days. You can renew

it aer 90 days if necessary.

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Consider Placing a Credit Freeze

If you place a credit freeze, potenal creditors cannot get your childs credit report, which makes it less likely an

identy thief can open new accounts. You must contact each of the three credit reporng companies directly to

place a freeze.

The credit reporng companies may request proof of your childs Social Security number, a copy of the childs

birth cercate, and proof that you are the childs parent or legal guardian. Pung a freeze on a minors credit

le can be a useful deterrent to addional fraud. You must li the freeze from the credit le before the minor

applies for student or auto loans, an apartment, or job. Once the child turns 18, he or she can ask to li the freeze

HOW TO REQUEST A CREDIT FREEZE


Contact each credit


Experian18883973742

[email protected]

Report that your minor child is an identy the vicm.

Ask each company to put a freeze on the childs credit le.

Provide proof that you

are the childs parent or

legal guardian.

The credit reporng companies may request copies of:

the childs birth cercate

the childs Social Security number

documents proving you are the childs parent or legal guardian.


Pay a fee. Pay any fee required by state law.

Mark your calendar. Your state law determines how long the credit freeze lasts.

Monitoring a Credit Report

Some people nd it convenient to pay a company for identy the prevenon and monitoring services.

Others nd ways to monitor their credit les for free. Knowing your legal rights can help make it easier

for you to decide whether to buy these services. The boom line: theres lile or nothing a commercial

company can do for you for a fee that you cant do yourself for free.

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File a Report With the FTC

File an identy the report at www.c.gov or call 1-877-438-4338. Provide as many details about the the as

possible. Save a copy of the completed complaint, which is called an Identy The Adavit. If you le a police

report, give a copy of the Adavit to the police.

HOW TO REPORT IDENTITY THEFT TO THE FTC


Complete the FTCs

online complaintform.

www.c.gov/complaint

Fill out the complaint form. Include as many details as possible.

When the form is complete, click Submit.

Aer you submit your informaon, you will see a complaintreference number. Save this number.

Save or print

the completed

complaint.

Aer you submit your informaon, print a copy of the completedcomplaint or save it electronically. The completed complaint isyour Identy The Adavit.

Update the

complaint.

If you need to add details to your complaint, call the FTC and give

the complaint reference number.


Call the FTC. 18774384338

Tell the representave what happened.

The representave will give you a complaint reference number, andan Adavit password, and send you an email explaining how to get

your Adavit.

Follow the direcons in the email. Print a copy of your completedcomplaint and save it electronically. The completed complaint isyour Identy The Adavit.

Update the

complaint.

If you need to add details to your complaint, call the FTC and givethe complaint reference number.

ONLINE

BYPHONE

OR

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Consider Filing a Police Report

Usually, adults must le a police report about identy the before they can use certain legal remedies to clear a

credit report. The situaon may be dierent for children, because credit reporng companies may correct a child

vicms credit le without a police report. Send credit reporng companies a Uniform Minors Status Declaraon

(page 11) or a leer explaining that your child is a minor who cannot legally enter into a contract. Aer you

provide proof that the vicm is a minor, credit reporng companies and businesses should correct the fraudulent

informaon that the identy thief created.

Its important to le a police report if you need to resolve a child vicms medical, tax-related, or other identy the

HOW TO FILE A POLICE REPORT


Go to your local police

department or the police

department where the

the occurred.

Bring a copy of your Identy The Adavit and any other proof of thethe.

Complete a report about the the.

Get a copy of the report, or the report number.

Call Every Company Where an Account Was Fraudulently Opened or Misused

If you already know where your childs informaon was misused, contact the company. Ask it to close the

fraudulent account and ag the account to show it is a result of identy the.

Otherwise, when you receive your childs credit report, review it for any accounts opened with the childs name

or personal informaon. If you see a fraudulent account in your childs name, contact the company where the

account was opened. Ask the company to close the fraudulent account and ag the account to show it is the

result of identy the.

If your child has a college savings, bank, or credit union account, monitor the account statements. If you see an

account was misused, ask the nancial instuons fraud department to restore any erroneous withdrawals and

ag the account to show it was compromised by identy the. For more help, contact the agency that oversees

the nancial instuon about your childs rights. Get informaon at www.ec.gov/consumercenter/default.aspx

Aer you contact a business, follow up in wring, and enclose a completed copy of the Uniform Minors Status

Declaraon (page 11).

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Should a Child Identity Theft Victim Get a New Social Security Number?

The Social Security Administraon may assign a new Social Security number to your child if:

the child is being harassed, abused, or is in grave danger when using the original number

you can prove that someone has stolen the number and is using it illegally. You must provide evidence that

the number actually is being misused, and that the misuse is causing the child signicant, connuing harm.

If you apply for a new Social Security number for your child, you must prove the childs age, cizenship or lawful

immigraon status, and identy.

Geng a new Social Security number probably wont resolve all problems related to the the of your childs

identy. Government agencies and some businesses may keep records under the childs original Social Security

number. In addion, because credit reporng companies use Social Security numbers and other personal

informaon to idenfy a persons credit le, using a new number doesnt guarantee a fresh start. But, by being

careful with your childs personal informaon and monitoring credit reports for fraudulent acvity, you can limit

the misuse. Learn more at www.socialsecurity.gov or call 1-800-722-1213.

Medical Identity Theft

A thief may use a childs identy to get medical services. Read the explanaon of benets statements your

insurance company sends you each me it pays for service in your childs name. If you get a statement for

services your child did not receive, contact the medical provider. Get a copy of the medical records, and ask the

medical provider to remove or segregate all charges and services that are not related to your child. Be sure that

the medical provider ags any of your childs accounts that were compromised by identy the. Follow up in

wring and enclose a completed copy of the Uniform Minors Status Declaraon (page 11).

Tax-Related Identity Theft

If your child gets a noce from the IRS for unpaid taxes, even though he or she never earned income, or you get

a noce from the IRS saying your childs name and Social Security number were listed on another return, your

child may be a vicm of tax-related identy the. If you or your child get such a noce, respond immediately to

the address included with the IRS noce. The IRS never makes a rst contact with taxpayers by email, and doesnt

ask for detailed personal informaon through email. If you get an email that claims to be from the IRS, call the IRS

(1-800-829-1040) and ask if they sent the message.

If you learn that an identy thief used your childs Social Security number on a tax return, call the IRS Specialized

Identy The Protecon Unit (1-800-908-4490).

If you think your childs informaon may be at risk, you can ask the IRS to monitor the use of your childs Social

Security number for suspicious acvity. You will have to complete an IRS Identy The Adavit (IRS Form 14039)

and send a copy of an identy document, like a Social Security card, passport, or drivers license.

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UNIFORM MINORS STATUS DECLARATION

This is a voluntary declaraon for establishing that a child is a minor. Use it for disputes with credit reporng

companies and creditors about identy the-related problems.

ABOUT THE MINOR CHILD

Full Legal Name

First Middle Last, Sux

Date of Birth Social Security Number

mm/dd/yy

Current Street Address

City State Zip Code

The child has lived atthis address since

mm/dd/yy

All other addresses where the child has lived within the last ve years:

ABOUT ME

Full Legal Name

First Middle Last, Sux

Date of Birth

mm/dd/yy

Current Street Address

if dierent from thechilds address

City State Zip Code

I have lived at thisaddress since

mm/dd/yy

Dayme Telephone ( ) Evening Telephone ( )

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DOCUMENTATION AND SIGNATURE

Aach COPIES, not originals, of the following documents with your Declaraon:

the childs birth cercate or, for an adopted child without a birth cercate, a nal adopon proceeding

order or cercate

the childs Social Security card

your state idencaon card, like a drivers license or military issued photo idencaon card that shows

your current address

a ulity bill that shows your current address

for guardians: a copy of the court order or another proof of guardianship or legal representaon of the

minor.

Sign and date the following paragraph:

I cerfy that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all the informaon on and aached to this declaraon is

true, correct, and complete and made in good faith. I further cerfy that I am the parent, adopve parent, legal

guardian, or legal representave of the child named in this declaraon. I understand that this declaraon or

the informaon it contains may be made available to federal, state, and/or local law enforcement agencies for

such acon within their jurisdicon as they deem appropriate. I understand that knowingly making a false or

fraudulent statement or representaon to the government may constute a violaon of 18 U.S.C. 1001 or other

federal, state, or local criminal statutes, and may result in imposion of a ne or imprisonment or both.

Signature Date Signed

Documents

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