Social Security number identity thieves could be ruining your child’s credit history now and/or before your child was even born. Enterprising thieves have been taking advantage of their understanding of how Social Security numbers are assigned to get your child’s number and use it to run up huge debt and financial problems for your children. This has been going on for years without victims knowing. This is a national problem with little to no effort to capture or prosecute the thieves by police. So why do we have this identity theft crisis that could ruin your child’s credit history before they’re born?
It's in the Numbers
Social Security numbers are assigned before children are born. The way Social Security numbers are formatted is the key to these scams. The first three numbers in a Social Security Number represent the state that the person is born in. The last six numbers are a code for the person’s birthday. Identity thieves use this knowledge to create and use fake Social Security numbers that they use for years before they’re discovered if they’re discovered.
Living the Life (Your Childs)
Social Security identity thieves use the stolen numbers to purchase anything from mortgages to automobiles to personal loans and anything else they chose to use it for. An identity thief has even declared bankruptcy using a child’s stolen Social Security Number. They can get away with this because lending institutions check social security numbers to verify that they are active numbers but they don’t verify the name associated with the number. You would think that the Social Security Number and name would be verified together but that’s not the case. Lending institutions don’t take the next step to verify the name associated with a Social Security Number because the government charges a fee for it. So the thieves have the advantage of using the stolen numbers for years until an unsuspecting victim tries to use their credit.
They've Got Your Number
When a young person whose Social Security identity has been stolen and ruined applies for credit for a car or student loan, they get rejected based on the credit history of their Social Security Number. Unfortunately, this crime isn’t a high priority for many police departments. At this point it’s up to the victim to prove that they’ve been victimized. Even after some of the thieves were found they weren’t arrested.
Keep Them in Check
One way to try to protect your child is to work with the Social Security Administration to get a “clean” Social Security Number for your child. You should also check your child’s credit history to learn when and if an identity thief is ruining your child’s credit. Do this as soon as you can get the number from the Social Security Administration. Finally, continue to check your child’s credit history, along with the rest of the family, on a regular basis. You have to be proactive to try to stop Social Security identity thieves from ruining your child’s credit history.
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3 Comments
You said, "One way to try to protect your child is to work with the Social Security Administration to get a “clean” Social Security Number for your child." How would a parent do this -- another article brewing???