Children are increasingly becoming the targets of identity theft. Although the problem is not new, it is possible the issue is more common than was previously realized.

Children become targets by identity thieves for a number of reasons: the stolen Social Security Number can become associated with crimes, lines of credit, or for work purposes. Most people do not consider that their children are at risk for these crimes, so many go undetected for long periods of time. From 2005 - 2007, more than 34,000 reports of identity theft involving minors under age 18 were reported to the Federal Trade Commission.

With adults, identity fraud can usually be detected more quickly. Children, however, are not attempting to apply for loans or credit cards, and so don’t have that trigger situation to highlight the issues. Sadly, in about 50% of cases, the thief is someone known to the child.

Randy Waldron Jr., now 27, has spent the last 10 years trying to clean up his reputation after his father abused his Social Security Number to run up millions of dollars in debt.

Some tips to protect your child’s identity include:

• Shred all papers that contain Social Security Numbers
• Store Social Security cards in a safe place - don’t carry it
• Investigate if your child receives pre-approved credit applications
• Ask for a credit report for your child - there shouldn’t be one yet for minors, so if there is, it may be problematic
• Be wary when providing documentation to anyone that could be used for fraud

Via AP, AP ; Image: Microsoft Office Clipart / iStockphoto.com