• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Pregnancy Logo 2018

Pregnancy Magazine

Pregnancy and infancy news, tips, and reviews

“Great
  • Pregnancy
  • Labor & Delivery
  • Baby
  • Breastfeeding
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • mom

Child identity theft: 5 tips for protecting your baby

by Sandra Bernardo 1 Comment

Identity theft is one of the scariest forms of theft, often causing financial damage that can last for years to come. What many parents don’t realize is that children are just as susceptible to becoming victims of identity theft as adults, regardless of their age.

In fact, thieves are very interested in the identities of children as they are a clean slate that can be used to easily commit fraud. Furthermore, the sad reality is that many don’t find out their identity has been stolen until they are young adults and are applying for credit for the first time, only to find a poor credit score, as well as debt and/or accounts in their name.

Experian, the nation’s largest credit bureau, recently polled consumers nationally on the topic of child identity theft and found that parents are indeed concerned (80 percent), but many do not know what to do to protect their children from becoming victims. In fact, many are engaging in behavior that directly puts their children at risk – without realizing it.

As parents, you protect your kids from every other danger, why not identity thieves? Below, you’ll find our tips for protecting your child.

online pharmacy lexapro no prescription with best prices today in the USA

Protect their social security number

online pharmacy purchase kamagra-oral-jelly online with best prices today in the USA

A child’s pristine SSN is like gold for identity thieves. Once a skilled identity thief has a child’s number they can create a whole new identity and use that number to set up credit accounts, take out loans and of course, rack up debt

Don’t overshare online

Details such as your child’s full name, address and date of birth can be enough to get an identity thief started. The web is a happy hunting ground for identity thieves, so avoid making your child’s personal information available online.

online pharmacy flomax with best prices today in the USA

Safeguard your home

online pharmacy buy premarin online with best prices today in the USA

It’s important to keep personal information under lock and key and away from prying eyes. This includes your child’s Social Security number, birth certificate, passport or other sensitive information.

Monitor for suspicious activity

Watch out for pre-approved credit cards, bills for unfamiliar services or unexpected medical collection notices in your child’s name. Some credit monitoring products will alert you of activity associated with your child.

Educate your children

Identity thieves troll social networking websites in search of potential victims. If your child is old enough to use the internet and electronic devices in general, make sure your child knows not to share private information online – such as their date of birth, address, and names of family members.

Protecting a child from identity thieves can be simple, and is really all about consistent monitoring and being cognizant of the signs of theft. For more information on how to protect your child as well as how to check if they have a credit report (a key sign of identity theft), visit the Experian Education Blog. You can also take our special child identity theft quiz to test your knowledge on the topic.

Filed Under: Pregnancy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Very Practical Parent says

    at

    I never thought of this. Sounds like additional evidence for importance of keeping an eye on what kids are doing online.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe

Peaceful Discipline by Sarah Moore

More to See

parent coaching

Parent Coaching: 3 Ways to Create a More Joyful Home

By Sarah Moore

The perfect workout for pregnant women (sponsored)

By Isa Herrera, MSPT CSCS

3 unique ways to care for your health as a mom

By Sammi DeRosia

What to Do When You’re Expecting And Still Need to Support Your Family

By Sammi DeRosia

Footer

Copyright 2025 Pregnancy Magazine Group

Emails powered by Wishpond: PregnancyWishpond

Dedicated WordPress hosting: PregnancyFlywheel

WordPress Theme: PregnancyTheme

This website provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for an examination by your healthcare provider. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

 

Recent

  • 10 Postpartum Recovery Kits to Consider Before Baby Comes
  • 3 unique ways to care for your health as a mom
  • What to Do When You’re Expecting And Still Need to Support Your Family
  • Why Early Childhood Development Matters: A Guide for Expectant Parents
  • Everything you need to know about surrogate pregnancy

Search

© Copyright 2025 Pregnancy Magazine Group · All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT