Victims of Child Identity Theft
We never think something could happen to us until it does. So, before excluding yourself from these circumstances, think twice and consider protecting your children.
Identity thieves want access to your kid’s personal data. Here are three real-life stories highlighting the challenges of child identity theft.
Jalessa’s Story
Source
At the age of 8, Jaleesa entered foster care. While moving to six different foster families, someone stole her identity to apply for a credit card.
When Jalessa decided to get her first credit card at 21-years old, her application was denied. Her credit report revealed that she had payments in default due to identity theft.
For nearly six months, she talked with the credit bureaus
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Going to the doctor will become a hassle because their records will not match their identity.
Moreover, college loans may be denied and the DMV may link them to criminal activity.
In the book “Child Identity Theft: What Every Parent Needs to Know” by Robert P. Chappell, Jr., the author explains how the economy is drained by this crime. It costs us over 60 billion dollars a year.
Emotional consequences are also associated with identity theft. Since the situation is so exhausting, parents and even teens may suffer sleepless nights. People may feel anxious worrying about their unsecure information.
The negative circumstances can result in embarrassment. Some parents blame themselves for mishandling their important documents. Others don’t report the crime because they believe they are responsible for falling for the scam.
It’s a frightening situation. Similar to physical boundaries, when emotional lines are crossed, people become unsafe and manifest feelings of sorrow, anger, and bitterness.
In 2012, “Maryland became the first state to enact legislation targeting this unseen theft.” The state government now gives parents and guardians the authority to preemptively freeze their child’s credit
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Advocates applaud the state’s efforts to ensure child identity security.
How to Protect Your Kids
Child identity theft is real, and it’s to your benefit to be proactive, rather than reactive, about your child’s safety. Here are a few ways to minimize your child’s risk of identity theft.
Be mindful of the warning signs.
Sometimes, criminals do leave behind clues. So, don’t ignore them. For example, a notice from the IRS stating that your child owes money is an indicator of fraud. If you receive collection calls for services you’ve never paid for, contact your credit agencies immediately.
2. Destroy personal documents.
Don’t just throw away your important documents. Any papers with personal information, including SSNs, birthdates, and addresses, should be shredded or burned immediately. Criminals can’t benefit from damaged records.
3. Be smart online.
The Internet has become a breeding ground for scams. From deceptive emails to misleading sweepstakes, thieves are trying their hardest to access your data. Purchase items from secure, encrypted websites. Use strong passwords and anti-virus software. And if something seems too good to be true, avoid
Identity theft is a major concern today in our country, millions of a person’s identity have been compromised for many of years. Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s personal information such as name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, credit card number, or other identifying information to take on that person’s identity in order to commit fraud or other crimes. Stealing an identity is, unfortunately, surprisingly easy to do and happens when you least expect it. Just by opening your mail, something that has personal information on it, throwing it in the trash. Therefore, a person can go through your trash and take all that information and use it against you to take on a new identity.
There is a thief that lurks around us everyday; this thief can attack in brad day light or in the darkest hour, and just about anywhere you may find yourself. This thief has the power to act in your name, make unlimited purchases, open up credit accounts and ruin your good name and credit all in the matter of seconds; if you are vulnerable enough, you might become his next victim. In many cases all he needs is your name and a social security number, and he has enough information to make you his next victim; if you don’t believe me then ask the millions of Americans that became victim’s, or just ask me. The thief that I am talking about is identity theft. Identity theft is a
In 2014, there were an estimated 2.3 million cases, a twenty-two percent increase from the previous year (Andrews, 2016). According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft complaints have also increased by more than 47 percent since 2014 and it was the second most reported crime after illegal debt collection. (“FTC Releases Annual Summary of Consumer Complaints Debt Collection, Identity Theft, and Imposter Scams Remain Top Categories of Complaints Received by FTC in 2015”, 2016) “The 2017 Identity Fraud Study, released by Javelin Strategy & Research, found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016, compared with $15.3 billion and 13.1 million victims in 2015. In the past six years identity thieves have stolen over $107 billion.” (“Identity Theft and Cybercrime”,
Have you ever received a credit card bill at the end of the month with a ridiculous amount of money needed to be paid that you never spent? This is because of identity theft. The FTC estimates that each year, over 9 million people are affected by identity theft. According to Sally Driscoll, this is because almost anyone with a computer and a slight bit of computer knowledge can pull off identity theft. Experts also claim that identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the world. Identity theft is a global problem that cannot be stopped without effective measures. The problem is, effective measures are very hard to come by when dealing with identity theft because almost any security protocol can be by-passed.
Identity theft is a significant problem to both citizens and financial institutions. The FTC estimates that over 27.3 million Americans have been the victims of identity theft in the past five years. The
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation” (Oscar Wilde). This quote illustrates how in our world, a person’s identity can be easily changed. Many Americans are effected by this problem today. Citizens, criminals, and the government all play a role in this process. However, many disagree as to whether identity theft should be allowed in our country. Based on the history of identity theft and relationships between American citizens, the government, and this issue, identity theft should be abolished in America.
Along with this, you will need to contact all three of the major credit bureaus in order to place a fraud alert on your records. The bureaus that you will need to contact are; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You will also need to talk to your financial institution and look into closing accounts that have been opened under your name.
Identity theft is a negative issue in the entire United States, but the state of Florida is where it is most common and where there is the most cases. Due to Florida having the most identity theft complaints, it is important to question just how vulnerable the state is to this form of fraud. However, it is evident that Florida needs to find more efficient ways to limit identity theft drastically, since it has led the nation in identity theft for the past three years. This paper will examine the steps that are involved in identity theft and the areas that are most negatively affected by this crime, in the state, In addition, this paper will examine the best strategies that individuals can utilize to prevent identity theft and protect their personal information, such as shredding paperwork that contain sensitive information before throwing it away and not carrying a Social Security card with them. The paper will make the readers understand how serious of a crime identity theft is and why it happens in Florida more often than any other state in the United States.
The government is working very hard to fight against identity theft. Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act to help people who have been a victim of identity theft. This act helps to prosecute suspects that have committed crimes dealing with identity theft. Suspects can get anywhere from 15 to 30 years when it comes to identity theft. Identity theft includes credit card fraud, identification fraud, computer fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, or financial institution fraud. Not only do these suspects go to prison, but they have to pay the money back, and anything that is gained in the while committing the crime will be seized. The government works very hard with other agencies to help prosecute crimes that involve identity
Believe it or not it definitely does happen; child identity theft has been increasing as of modern periods. But how do those stammers get keep of your child's individual detail?
Identity theft is the fastest growing fraud crime in America (Finklea, 2009). Gaining knowledge in preventing theft will better the economy and lower the crime rates in America. There are reported 9.9 million victims of identity theft and this number is increasing rapidly as the years go on. It has been reported that an estimate of fifty billion dollars has been charged to our consumers every year due to identity theft (Finklea, 2009).
There is currently a huge growing number of criminals that now do greater and more widespread damage to their victims without ever meeting them. Identity theft surfaced in the early 1990s and turned peoples everyday transactions into a data gathering game. Bits of personal information such as bankcards, credit card accounts, income, social security numbers or just someone name, address, and phone numbers are now collected and could be used illegally by these individuals without anyone’s knowledge.
Identity theft affects millions of Americans every day. Scam artists and hackers lay in wait for an unsuspecting person to get caught up their scheme through ignorance or naivety so they can take full advantage of their personal information to do as they desire with it. Problem is, it infiltrates and depreciates the integral infrastructure of our society which creates a cultural lapse through the declination of economic and cultural growth and double jeopardizes an already unstable system to the brink of its destruction. To understand how
Alright, perhaps you are not kicking back in your down-time and deeply thinking about the advanced points of child ID theft. But if you have not been very keen with the ever growing number of horror stories featuring optimistic young individualstrying to rent their first apartment, open their very first credit card, or even buy their dream cars and get denied simply because they have debts - you certainly should. Well, it may not happen to your daughter or even son, but as this specific strain of financial crime continue to spread and morph, there will be innovations, the vector will definitely widen, and hundreds of thousands of American children, if not millions, will without a doubt be ensnared. Just one thing is as definite as the fact that breaches have turn out to be the third certainty in life: Child identity theft has prodded its way intoour daily life.
How do you secure your identity with the Internet developing faster than can be protected? Attempting to stay ahead of the hackers and attackers has been a contentious effort since the Internet’s earliest days as a research project. Today, after thirty years of prolific development, security concerns have only increased. Designing computer systems and devices which are capable of resisting attack from within, while growing and evolving at an epidemic rate is almost an impossible endeavor. Today, identity theft is the nation’s fastest growing white collar crime and preys upon the financial resources and reputations of its victims to include children and deceased. In many