How to protect children from identity theft

CINCINNATI (Paula Toti) -- Many people monitor their own credit, but when's the last time parents checked their child's?

It's worth a look to make sure scam artists haven't stolen your child's identity.

Between working two jobs and raising four kids, one with severe ADHD, Neala Elsworth didn't think things could get more complicated. Then insurers began denying her kids' claims.

"They told me three out of four of my kids have another insurance," said Neala.

She soon discovered someone else was using her kids' social security numbers to get benefits in another state. It‚„s an all-too-common form of child ID theft.

Kenneth Abbe with the Federal Trade Commission said, "The rate of child identity theft is about 50 times higher than it is for adults."

Abbe cites a Carneigie Mellon report that found one out of 10 children studied had someone else using their social security number. Something parents often don't discover until their kids start getting credit card applications, collection notices, letters from the IRS or worse, when they're denied a student loan.

"Parents should check every three to four years to see if their child has a credit report, but especially check at the time the child turns 16," said Abbe.

He explained that should provide plenty of time to clean up compromised credit before they turn 18. Until then, kids shouldn't have a credit report at all. To check, you can submit a request in writing to all three credit bureaus.

Neala urges other parents to be proactive, "Make sure your kid's identity isn't getting stolen, because it could happen. I never thought it would happen to me but it's happened."

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