Key Takeaways
- Identity thieves have a new favorite target and it’s your child’s personal information, including social security number.
- Criminals are going after the social security numbers of infants and young children because no one will realize what they’ve done for 18 years.
- Contact any one of the three main credit agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) and ask that your child’s social security number be locked.
- You’ll get your baby’s social security number about a week or two after birth, so it’s imperative to lock it down as soon as it arrives.
Here comes baby! You’ve expanded your family and now you’re about to bring this new bundle of joy home. There’s so much to think about and prepare before carrying baby through the front door. As a new parent, your list probably looks something like this: get bottles, pacifiers, diapers, wipes, contact the credit agencies to lock down baby’s social security number, and…
What? Lock down an infant’s social security number? That sounds a little crazy.
It may sound crazy, but it’s not. One of the newest criminal trends involves stealing that new baby’s social security number and using it to get credit, licenses, jobs, and any number of things.
Most people know that these thieves and con-artists prey on the elderly in this way, but why infants and young kids? Because no one will know about it for 18 years. Then, when your child goes to secure a student loan, buy a car, or apply for a job, it becomes apparent that he or she is starting young adulthood with a trashed identity, horrible credit record, and thousands of dollars in delinquent debt. When thieves have 18 years to destroy an identity, it can be nearly impossible to straighten out. For more details on what can happen, refer to this identity theft blog post from a while back.
Right after you get baby home and settled, take steps to protect that new social security number. It’s easy to do this by contacting any one of the three credit agencies: Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax. Each agency has a toll-free number listed on its website. You can call this number or, if you prefer, just take care of it through the website’s identity theft prevention area. Once baby’s social security number is locked down, no one can steal your child’s name and identity to apply for loans and other forms of credit.
You may not have realized that criminals are aggressively going after the identities of infants and young children. Now that you know, you have one more thing to think about in addition to all those other things you need to do. You’ll receive the new social security number within the first week or two after birth. Immediately take steps to lock it down. After that, exhale and relax into this new normal. Until next time, enjoy.
Gary