Why to freeze your child's credit and how to do it.
Freezing your credit, as well as your child’s, is one of the most effective ways to keep a bad actor from stealing and using your identity as well as theirs to run up debt in your name. Yes, it is possible to freeze a infant, teenager’s, or young kids credit, and parents or guardians can do it for those under the age of 16. All parents should strongly consider doing this, and find how to freeze the credit of your kid(s) below.
It doesn't cost anything to apply a freeze, but you must contact all three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, individually and follow their procedures. But why should you freeze your child's credit when he or she doesn't even have a credit report or history? That's precisely why you should. Your child's credit is totally unblemished, but is can still be “stolen” and susceptible to scams or fraud. And, as far as identity thieves are concerned, the younger the child, the better.
Most adults are familiar with the concept of identity theft and take preventative measures to ensure that are not susceptible to this type of fraud. However, many are unaware that children can also be the victims of identity theft. Indeed, recent studies (from companies such as Javelin Strategy & Research as well as the FBI) have indicated that over 1 million children had their identities stolen each year.
This is likely because children are not regularly monitoring their finances and their credit in the same way that an adult would. Often, child identity theft goes undiscovered until the child tries to open their first bank account or credit card when they are a teenager.
If a criminal steals the identity of an adult who happens to have bad credit, chances that the thief will reap significant benefits are slim. If, however, the thief can steal the identity of a child with a totally clean credit history and build on that, he'll probably profit significantly and over a long period of time before the crime is even detected. That fact alone can make a criminal more likely to target scams on parents with children, as they want your kids social security number. Imagine your child growing up and applying for his or her first credit account only to discover that his/her identity was stolen years earlier and that a mountain of unpaid debt was acquired in her name.
As a parent, it can be quite scary to think of the possibility that your child could have their identity stolen in this way. Luckily, there is something that you can do to prevent this from happening - freeze your child's credit.
How do criminals get information about kids credit?
An identity thief can buy a stolen Social Security number (SSN) on the Dark Web for as little as $2. And the FBI reports that millions of kids also have their social security numbers listed for sale. The number could have been stolen in a variety of ways.
Perhaps the parent or the child happened across a malicious website when trying to set up an account and entered the SSN as part of a bogus ID verification process. Maybe an employee at the child's physician's office steals SSNs and other sensitive personal data from medical records to make a little money on the side. In many cases, family members or friends with inside access end up being the bad actors.
What a credit freeze does for your children
A credit freeze is a way of restricting access to a credit report, including a kids. Whenever an individual needs to take out a loan, open a credit line, or even rent an apartment, their credit report will almost always be pulled. If the individual has previously frozen their credit, the lender or landlord will be unable to pull the report. When this happens, the person will be asked to "thaw" their credit so that the report can be viewed. If they are unable to do so, their application will almost certainly be rejected.
When you freeze your or your child's credit with the three reporting agencies, it prohibits them from providing credit information to those who request it, making it virtually impossible for new accounts to be opened. If you need to open a new account of if a prospective employer wants to check your credit, you will have to go through he process of temporarily lifting the freeze. Once the transaction or review is completed, you'll need to reapply the freeze to continue protecting your credit.
All of this means that if you put a freeze on your child's credit, an identity thief would be unable to take out a loan or credit card in your child's name - even if they had access to the child's social security number. it limits the ability of you, your family, or your kids falling to common scams. Once the thief applies for credit, the report would show up as frozen. Since the thief would be unable to "thaw" the report, their application would be rejected and your child's identity would be safe.
How to apply a freeze on your child's behalf
Freezing your child's credit requires a bit more effort than freezing your own, which you can do entirely online. The process differs from one credit agency to the next, but once complete, you'll receive a personal identification number (PIN) from each agency that can be used to lift and reapply the freeze as needed.
Before you attempt to freeze your child's credit, you should first check to see if the credit bureaus have a credit file on record for them. Since your child has never taken out any loans, there may not be one be one. If there is, you should review it and report anything unusual to the police and to the credit bureaus.
If your child does not yet have a file, you will need to contact the credit bureaus to create one. You will need to speak with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion separately. Unfortunately, there is no centralized way to create the file. Having created the file, you will then need to complete the necessary documentation for each credit bureau (again, separately) in order to finalize the credit freeze.
To apply a freeze on your child's behalf, you'll need to submit several documents as proof of identity and residency and those documents must be submitted by mail. You'll be asked to provide:
- A copy of your driver's license or passport
- Copies of birth certificates for both you and your child
- Copies of Social Security cards
- Documentation to verify your address, like a utility bill
Because an identity thief would love to lay hands on this kind of documentation, consider sending it via certified mail so that it can be tracked and you can confirm delivery.
Here are the URLs to access the forms and instructions to freeze children's credit for each of the three reporting agencies
- assets.equifax.com/assets/personal/Minor_Freeze_Request_For m.pdf
- experian.com/freeze/form-minor-freeze.html
- transunion.com/credit-freeze/credit-freeze-faq#freeze-other
Once you've completed the process by mail and received your PIN, you'll be able to lift and reapply the freeze online.
Warning signs your child’s identify has been stolen
While freezing your child's credit goes a long way toward preventing identity theft and eliminates the need to periodically check his or her credit reports to look for suspicious activity, it's wise to remain vigilant and be knowledgeable of common scams. Something could have happened before the freeze was applied.
Some warning signs that your child's identity has been misused include calls from creditors or collection agents regarding overdue payments or bad debts in the child's name. He or she may receive pre-approved credit offers. In some instances, identity theft victims receive tax-related correspondence from the IRS as a result of the thief's activities.
Getting help if your kids identity was stolen
If you believe that you or your child is a victim of identity theft, it is critical that you take immediate action to prevent further damage. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created a great tool to help victims report and put a stop to the criminal activity.
This FTC program also applies to identify theft or someone stealing a child’s credit as well. The FTC will notify creditors, apply a fraud alert to their credit reports, and recover. You'll find the online tool at IdentityTheft.gov.
Free legal aid can also be used if you, or your kids, identity was stolen. There are federal government funded, pro-bono asnd volunteer attorneys that give free advice to low income families. The legal services can be used to help with scams, fraud, stolen credit or identity theft as well as many other civil issues. Learn more on and find free legal aid near you.
Summing freezing credit up
It's unfortunate that, in today's environment where cybercriminals seem to be running amok, protecting your child's identity has become necessary. Not doing so could result in years of criminal activity being perpetrated against your son or daughter that could go undetected until the child is grown and finds out about it the hard way.
Though identity theft can certainly be scary, it is relatively straightforward to protect your child from it. By freezing their credit from an early age, you will be able to ensure that bad actors are never able to open up any financial accounts in your child's name.
Even after it's stopped, the residual impacts of identity theft are long-lasting and can impact a victim's chances of getting credit or even a good job for years to come. Applying for freezes with all three agencies takes some time, but it's well worth the effort.
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