Befriending also frequently takes place at child-related businesses. From gaming, skating, and teen clothing stores to bowling, biking, and sports businesses, befriending is a door opener. Befriending may also take place at a public place, such as a park, walking trail, recreation area, or at a business. Befriending can take place anywhere and virtually anytime.
Befriending can happen in person or on the Internet. Internet contact can be made through phishing attempts, viruses, chat rooms, teen game rooms, e-mails, and more. People can stalk online just as they can in person. A clue to pick up on is the coincidental occurrence of the same person showing up in person, or online more than once.
Teach your children to report suspicious activity. It is better to err on the side of caution when reporting, so report anything out of the ordinary so a parent or trusted adult can follow up on it immediately. If your child feels he or she is being followed, have your child go to the nearest trusted location and call you. Ensure the trusted location is one that is safe and preferably has an adult who can stay with them until you arrive. Do not assume your child knows to do this. I recognize this sounds simple, and you may have taught your child to seek out an adult if frightened, but in a real-life situation, will he or she react as you taught him or her? Proactive and continuous education in advance of such an encounter is your best preventive measure.
Evaluate the information relayed to you. If you feel it is appropriate, notify the police. Have your child write down all details to include a thorough description of the person of concern, and any vehicle information if appropriate. Get the names of any other children who were present and contact their parents. Ask other children involved to provide any descriptive information they may have to assist law enforcement. If this is a multiple report of similar activity, the police may ask that your child help them develop a sketch composite of the person stalking your child. These steps are critical in assisting law enforcement stop crimes against our children.
Hopefully, your child’s report will not be a case of an actual follower. We all know, though, that chances cannot be taken, as clues missed or unreported can lead to devastating consequences. If a stranger has a conversation with your child, the questions asked may help law enforcement determine what type of potential criminal was being sought out. Pedophiles do not usually ask a child for his or her Social Security number. Conversely, child identity thieves generally do not attempt to get your child into a vehicle. Child identity thieves may create small talk, but their desired goal is to get your child’s name, birth date, and Social Security number, and move on as quickly as possible to reduce suspicion.
Question #38: My child plays sports. Are there any child identity theft concerns I should be aware of?
A large majority of American children play sports. Some play recreational league sports and others play school sports. Some children play on travel teams, while others play for private clubs. Children’s sports include baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis, and many more. Sports develop children physically, mentally, and socially.
Most leagues, whether recreational, locality affiliated, or school leagues, require a combination of volunteer and paid support. Some recreational league staff members are volunteers who are not paid. These volunteers usually end up being parents or individuals in the local community. Volunteers are a great asset as long as their motives are pure.
School sports are usually governed by a set of state-mandated rules. These rules govern how many practices can be held in a given period of time, how many games can be played in a respective season, and what the standards and rules are for each game. State-developed guidelines establish fair play through mandated rules on specific ages for play in designated grade levels. State leagues also do a good job of following up to ensure compliance.
Recreational leagues set guidelines for play and usually try to mirror collegiate or professional rules. While sports in both recreational and school leagues have rules of eligibility and play, seldom do they spend time developing rules that focus on the security of our children’s information. Security of children’s information is almost always left to each individual who possesses the data.
Children’s sports mirror most of America in that the value of a child’s information is not recognized as being critical to protect from theft. Most sports leagues require registration forms and medical physicals. Whether it is a registration form or a physical form, each contains the personal data needed for identity thieves to steal and use a child’s information for criminal gain. These same sports leagues, whether recreational or school, do not have large sums of money to purchase high-dollar security programs for their computers or high-security safes to secure their forms.
Most people involved with the administration side of sports will say that the forms are destroyed once they have fulfilled their need. The truth actually is that few can say for sure how long these forms are kept, who is responsible for their destruction, and by what method the forms are destroyed. The method of destruction is critical. Throwing a completed registration or physical form in the trash is the equivalent of posting it on a street sign for anyone to take.
Forms with children’s personal information need to be treated with the respect that voting ballots are given if we are to defeat child identity theft. Whether you are involved with a sports league or you are a parent of a child, if you desire to make a difference, commit to getting involved and help change happen. It is as simple as instituting a process and checking to ensure the rules are followed.
Each registration form received should be numbered. Once the data has been entered into a computer, if that is the desired process, it should be destroyed by shredding it with a cross-cutting shredder. A specific person should be designated for this process, and it should be certified by way of a letter that this process has been completed. There should also be a policy against the copying of any registration or physical form once received.
A similar system can be used for medical physicals. Accountability of forms is the best way to protect your child’s information. If your league has a system of accountability, it shows that they understand the dangers of child identity theft and care about its participants. If your league is “on the fence” on the issue, they should know that they could be financially liable for a child’s information that is lost or stolen by an employee, or volunteer, working within the league’s system if there are no policies governing their actions.
Question #39: If someone uses my child’s information to obtain a mortgage, what should I do?
Imagine graduating from high school, turning eighteen years old, and being turned down by the college of your dreams because you failed to satisfy the mortgage that was taken out using your name when you were ten years old. How about graduating from college and landing that first and most important job only to be turned down in a background check that reveals you bought a home as an infant and failed to pay what you owed? Welcome to mortgage-related child identity theft.
A quick Internet search on the topic of mortgages and child identity theft will open your eyes to the victims that exist, and the horror stories that haunt them. Most families find out their children have been victimized by debt collection agency notification or issuing of court-related legal proceeding warrants. Most children find out they have been victimized by becoming adults and being turned down for credit or a job. Regardless of how it happens, it still devastates the child and the family.
The first step in resolving mortgage-related child identity theft is to obtain a credit report. As previously mentioned in other areas of this book, obtaining your credit report is free, and it can be done annually. To get the process started, go to the Internet and visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This site will allow you to order your free credit report. When the report is received, view it for fraudulent mortgage activity, and any other fraudulent activity. If you find activity which should not be on your report, it is best to create a child identity theft journal or log book. If you find a mort
gage you did not apply for, write the information of the company in your journal or log. You will need to record the business name, address, phone number, amount owed, and account number for further research.
Your next step should be to contact the police. Before doing so, you should consider whether or not your police agency is large enough, and diverse enough, to handle this type of crime. Mortgage fraud involves large sums of money. The FBI has a white collar crimes section that handles mortgage fraud and other types of white collar crimes. Your state police, bureau of criminal investigation, state patrol, or highway patrol most likely have a section that is trained in accounting and mortgage-related crimes. The advantage of working with the FBI is that they have jurisdiction across the United States.
After recording all fraudulent activity in your journal or log, your next contact should be to one of the three major credit reporting agencies to request a ninety-day credit alert. You may contact these at the following addresses:
Equifax—www.equifax.com
Experian—www.experian.com
TransUnion—www.transunion.com
A call to just one of the three major credit agencies will suffice, as the credit bureau who files the alert will notify the two other agencies. The credit alert is good for ninety days, and it is free of charge.
After you contact a credit reporting agency and place your ninety-day alert, make a call to the mortgage company listed on your credit report. Ask to speak to the company’s fraud department. Once you have the correct department, advise the representative that your child has been victimized by an identity thief. Give the mortgage fraud representative the name of the law enforcement officer investigating the case as well as the officer’s agency name, telephone number, and badge number. This step is important to ensure the mortgage fraud department notates their system in case there is any future activity associated with your name or Social Security number.
Dealing with child identity theft is difficult. When you add serious sums of money to the equation, it becomes even more difficult to resolve. If your child becomes a victim of mortgage-related child identity theft, swift action and police involvement may be the only way to bring resolution to this invasion of your child’s identity.
3
Detecting and Reporting Identity Theft
This critical section of the book will deal with two of the biggest concerns parents have about child identity theft: how to figure out if your child has been victimized and how to report the theft so that the process of cleaning up your child’s credit and reclaiming their identity can begin.
Question #40: What are some early signs that my child is a victim of identity theft?
Parents most often overlook the most common sign of identity theft: For no apparent reason, your child begins receiving mail, such as credit card offers. Unless you have opened a bank account recently for your child and the bank is trying to “cross sell” you other financial products, you should not be receiving such mail. Other tip-offs that your child’s identity is being used by someone to get credit, or for some other fraudulent purpose, include receiving legal notices, phone calls from debt collectors, and visits from the police.
There are some key points to bring out. Your child’s receiving mail does not mean they have been the victim of child identity theft. Even if he or she receives credit card offers, that does not automatically mean they have been victimized. As a parent, you know what actions you have taken on your child’s behalf. If you have recently opened up a bank account for your child, the bank may begin to send you information about other account services. Contact your bank and advise them of your preferences for participating in their marketing list, and inquire about their third-party release policy. You have the option to “opt out” of marketing offers, via phone, Internet, mail, or in person, that you do not agree to. If you elect to “opt out,” your bank is not allowed to share your information with other parties.
Another reason your child may receive legitimate mail is that you recently obtained an airline frequent flyer card for them. Again, you, as the parent, make the decision about what your child participates in. I would encourage you to “opt out” of anything you are not comfortable with. This does not mean you are “opting out” of a frequent flyer program, for example; just “opting out” of any marketing and third-party lists associated with such a program.
This brings us to the red flags of child identity theft. The most serious indicator that your child has become a victim of identity theft is the receipt of court notices of civil judgment, or court dates for hearings on amounts your child supposedly owes. Legal notices will most likely arrive at your door via a sheriff’s deputy or police officer and be hand delivered to you. If you are not present, the law enforcement officer may leave a notice on your door or with someone else at the home, depending on the court’s delivery instructions.
Depending upon the circumstances, you might also receive certified legal mail that you are required to sign for. Read the entire letter and contact the court immediately. Take the notice seriously and follow up as soon as possible. Obtain an attorney to represent you if you feel it is necessary.
Watch your U.S. mail for bills received in your child’s name from businesses, credit card companies, or debt collectors. Businesses will try to mail bills first when seeking to have debts paid. When payment is not received, creditors resort to collection agencies. Collection agencies seeking to collect on old debts owed will pay to locate the current addresses of people who choose not to pay their obligations. Though a criminal may have used a fake address when obtaining credit in your child’s name, a creditor will find you and your child by using legitimate means, such as utility records, property records, and phone number listings. By the time you are located, the bill may be grossly overdue, and collectors will show little sympathy and patience in your plight to clear your name and resolve the outstanding past-due debt.
If an officer shows up at your door asking questions, chances are your family has been victimized. Someone may have used your child’s information on a traffic stop or attempted to obtain official documents, such as a driver’s license, passport, voter registration card, welfare, or utility services documentation. The individual who stole personal information may have attempted to purchase a gun with the intent to commit a serious crime. My point is that the threat to the victim may range from loss of personal information to serious criminal activity, and much more in between, all of which should be addressed immediately to protect you and your family.
Sit down and discuss what has occurred with the law enforcement officer and cooperate fully, producing all information needed to prove your child’s age and identity. There are serious civil ramifications for charging the wrong person with a crime, so the law enforcement officer is going to want to verify all data the police department received, as well as information you provide. In most cases, this information will be provided by law enforcement to the state prosecutor or commonwealth’s attorney for guidance on the appropriate course of action.
The Social Security Administration prepares a benefits and earnings statement for those with a Social Security number. This document is used to show annual earnings for Social Security benefits upon an individual reaching his or her eligible retirement age. If anyone has earned income on your child’s Social Security number, it will be listed on this statement. If your child has a record of earnings, this is a big red flag unless your child is a young adult and he or she has started working. To obtain a copy of this statement visit www.ssa.gov or call (800) 772-1213.
Question #41: How do adult victims of child identity theft usually discover it?
Finding out that your child has been victimized, or that you were victimized as a child, is like receiving bad news from your doctor. There is never a good way to deliver or receive such devastating news. It is traumatic and long lasting. There are many ways to discover you have been victimized by an identity thief. Discovery can happen as the result of proactive measures, or come to yo
u as a complete surprise.
Most of us would like to think that we would discover our child’s victimization as soon as it occurs. Unfortunately, adults who were victimized as children often learn of identity theft the hard way: by being turned down for something they thought was easily obtainable—a first credit card, a student loan, or even a job—all because of bad credit. Your child’s victimization might also be discovered during his or her attempt to join the armed services.
Many victims who turn eighteen years old and become adults in the eyes of the legal system find out that they have been victimized when collection agencies contact them. As juveniles, these young adults had no record of services or legal standing in the community. As emancipated adults, they obtain services and driver’s licenses, purchase cars, and participate in the employment and financial systems. This participation starts a trail that debt collectors can access and track.
Educating you on how to uncover whether or not your child has fallen victim to identity theft is one of my goals in writing this book. The earlier you can detect your child’s victimization, the less damage will occur. Discovering that your child has become a victim means, of course, that the protective measures you put into place were insufficient or nonexistent. I want to arm you with as much information as I know to assist you in child identity theft prevention. Knowledge is power.
Child Identity Theft Page 10