Identity Theft and Children; Kids are just as much at risk of Id theft as you...maybe more!

The names and socials security numbers of second-graders who took the ACT in the 2006-2007 school year were posted on the internet.

School officials say the school's assessment specialist Chris Nugent accidentally put the data on his personal website as part of a graduate degree project. He has since resigned

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Have you checked your kid's credit reports?

You may not even think to get a copy of your child's credit report or check to see if they have one -that they shouldn't. Consider contacting the credit bureaus to find out if they do. If you are then told your child doesn't have a credit report, that's good news.

A child's identity is like gold to a thief. They can use their identity for quite a while without being detected. They find employment, housing, obtain credit, medical services, commit crimes and create new accounts all in you child's name. Often you or your child don't find out about it until they are grown and a lot of damage has been done. They find out when they have been denied credit, student loans or employment, or insurance or housing long after much damage has occurred.   Kids can have their credit destroyed before they are out of diapers.

"They start small, and build the child's credit," says CEO of LifeLock, Todd Davis

The Identities of children are now being stolen by thousands. They are easy targets because no one ever monitors them. These kids aren't finding out until they graduate from high school and apply for their first job or a student loan. By then, thieves have often been using their Identities for years and the kid's good name is ruined before he or she even has a chance to start.

Among the things we do:

• We check credit reports every 6 months to ensure that there is no activity.
• If a credit report does exist, we place fraud alerts on credit reports, stating that this is a minor child and that no activity should occur.
• We check for work history and any misuse of the Social Security number.
• We repeat this process regularly to ensure that all is well.
• This service comes with our $1 million guarantee. Our process is tailored to be most effective for the special requirements needed to protect your child's Identity.

Starting out is hard enough. Starting out with a stolen Identity makes it ten times harder.

UPDATE: Please note that this blog was written in 2008. My views on identity theft protection services have greatly changed, as did the services offered, the policies and less than transparent partnerships. In an effort to ensure these older blogs don't mislead readers, please take time to check the date of any blog relating to identity theft protection services. Anything dated pre-2012 that has not been updated, should NOT be considered as an accurate portrayal of today's informed opinions.