A modeling scam e-mail baits the child into sending in a photo for evaluation. The return response will be a glowing evaluation of potential. This will be accompanied by fictitious accomplishments the scammer has achieved for other clients the same age, or close to the same age. They may even claim that they have represented stars the children may know from television shows or say that they got the “child star” his or her start in the business. Scammers can say anything, as they know there is virtually no way for you to prove differently, and if you do, they move on.
Modeling scammers seek two things. The first is your child’s identity. With this identity they can obtain credit cards, commit crimes, and obtain employment. If they sell the information to another individual, the buyer can obtain loans, purchase cars, or buy homes. The second thing modeling scammers seek is cash and credit card information. If they hook the child and convince the parent, the scammer will require a fee paid up front for their services. Once they have this fee, it is profit, and they move to max out your credit card. Scammers rarely produce any result promised.
If at any point your child drops out or stops communicating with a scammer, think of what he or she is left with. If the child sent a photograph via e-mail, the scammer will take that photograph and circulate it, saying it is another child who was extremely successful working with that modeling agency, and the child in the photograph recommends the agency to all children. If you sent multiple photos, expect to see them sent around the world.
What about in-person modeling agencies? Chances are that they are more often legitimate than fraudulent. A parent can take the agency information and contact the nearest Better Business Bureau (BBB) for their rating and the satisfaction they have provided other customers. This can also be done on the Internet by visiting www.bbb.org. Before you meet with any agency, you can visit the BBB website and check out whether or not they are an accredited agency. My recommendation is to always do your research before visiting or committing to any agency and never allow a child to go to any meeting alone.
Once you give your child’s information to someone, your protections will depend on their motives. Even if they are legitimate, how can you be sure they will fully protect your child’s personal information? The agencies must be researched before you provide any personal information or funding, and you must have a conversation about the safety of your child’s information once provided. If you think this will stand in the way of the furtherance of your child’s modeling career, I will tell you that the alternative could be the destruction of your child’s financial future. You choose.
Question #94: Should I pay for identity protection insurance?
People frequently ask me if they should pay for identity protection. I would first say that from a fraud protection standpoint there are three generic categories of potential identity theft victims:
Those who monitor their family’s information religiously each and every day looking at bank statements, credit card statements, credit reports, and the details of each monthly bill received.
Those who look at some things, check sporadically on other things, and monitor information on a less frequent basis.
Those who look at little or nothing at all and believe the odds are that no one would ever want to victimize them.
If you are organized and can remember to follow up every ninety days with one of the credit agencies, as required, to renew your family’s fraud alert, then I would say your benefit from signing up for paid identity theft protection will be minimal. One of the largest benefits of an identity theft protection service provider is that they renew the ninety-day fraud alerts for you without action on your part. Some offer other benefits, such as coverage for insurance and attorney fees if there is victimization but the biggest benefit is probably the ninety-day alert renewal.
If you have limited time or desire, and can only sporadically check on your personal and financial information, then I suggest you find the identity theft protection right for you and subscribe today. The costs for services vary, but generally range from approximately $100 to $130 per year, depending on what company you research. If your child has been a victim in the past, you might want to review the different services and choose one to help you monitor your alerts.
If your child has not been a victim, and you have read this book and understand how to obtain your own credit reports and place your own alerts, then you can do most of the same things without a service. The choice is ultimately yours. You can save the money and do it yourself, or pay for the service and have it done for you every ninety days.
Identity theft services offer many services as a whole. If you decide that identity theft protection is right for you, which service is best? There are a multitude of companies, and each company offers different levels of services at different prices. The following are some of the protection services offered by identity theft companies:
New credit applications
Family protection
Insurance
Checking and savings account alerts
Address change assistance
Public record change protection
Medical identity theft protection
Negative credit additions
Lost wallet protection
Assistance in restoring your identity
Spyware protection
Anti-phishing protection
Whether you decide protection is not right for you or you decide that one of the companies you research provides you with exactly what you need, you will want to be free of identity theft. Parents must take to heart the statistical data showing that children are fifty-one times more likely to be victimized than adults. The ultimate question will not be whether child identity thieves will find your children, but rather, when they find them, will they be successful in stealing their identity? Take the steps necessary to keep your family safe from identity theft.
7
Further Resources
This appendix provides additional resources to help you understand and deal with child identity theft.
Question #95: Summary of protections for unauthorized use of credit and debit cards
What protections do parents have if they become the victim of credit card or debit card theft? As a general rule, credit cards offer much better protection against unauthorized use when compared to debit cards. To understand why an unauthorized use of a credit card is better than a debit card we must first cover the credit card system and payment for goods. When you go to a department store to buy something and slide your card, the merchant sends a request to the credit card company; once approved, the credit card company pays the merchant.
What is missing from this equation is the fact that you have not yet paid the credit card company for anything. Fraud is usually discovered at this stage by the consumer or the credit card company. Once discovered, the credit card company must either debit the merchant for the fraud, or assume the liability for it and pay the merchant. Most of the time, the credit card company accepts the loss.
The opposite is true, however, for the use of debit cards. When a debit card is fraudulently used, the money is withdrawn directly from the individual’s checking account. As soon as the pending charge hits the bank, your balance is reduced by the amount of the payment. The debit card holder is left with reporting the loss to the bank, which leaves the account holder’s balance at zero, assuming it was wiped out, until a determination can be made on what the bank is willing to assume as a loss.
If the bank investigates your claim and determines that the theft was reported within two days of the loss, they will charge you for the first fifty dollars and no more. With a credit card, the maximum charge you will pay is fifty dollars, but your period of reporting is greater. Instead of having two days to report your debit card theft, with a credit card you have sixty days. In both cases, if you wait more than two days for a debit card or more than sixty days for a credit card loss, you may have to pay as much as five hundred dollars in unauthorized charges.
Parents want to be able to take care of children’s needs. From groceries and doctor bills to shopping at the mall for clothes, parents must have some form of payment when the bill is presented. Payment takes the form of cash, a check, a debit card, or a credit card to pay for their purchases. In most cases, parents have options of what form of payment they carry and prefer. What is critical is that parents carry only what they need and no more.
Carrying extra credit cards, debit cards, or too much cash increases the potential for additional losses should you lose your wallet or purse. It also gives identity theft criminals more to work with should they steal your wallet or purse. Now that we have covered the required charges you must pay for each card lost and used in fraud, you know that carrying more cards than you need will cost you money.
Amounts charged by credit card companies and banks can differ from issuer to issuer. They are also subject to modification from year to year. Review your credit and debit card policies with your bank or issuer. Verify the amounts they might charge should you be victimized. You may be able to shop for a better deal just as you do with your advertised interest rate.
Children follow a parent’s example. Setting sound family policies on carrying cards is a step toward teaching them financial responsibility. Adding minimum theft charges to your research on low rates may assist you in selecting a better credit card company or bank. Lastly, remember not to carry your child’s personal data unless you need to; this protects it from theft.
Question #96: As a military family, what resources are available to us?
Armed forces members and their families have military and civilian entities available to help them. Each branch of service sponsors information and support programs for military service members and their families. On-post or on-base options include visiting an Army Community Service Center, Marine Corps Community Services, Fleet and Family Support Center, or Airman and Family Readiness Center. Visits to these services are regardless of your branch affiliation.
Each military installation has a legal office to assist military members with legal affairs. Military lawyers are members of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and commonly referred to as JAGs. JAGs are a resource for both service members and their families, regardless of whether you live on post, on base, or in the local community. If your child is being harassed by a debt collector, and it involves child identity theft, go see your installation JAG.
Your military JAG should be listed in your installation phone directory. You can also find a JAG by searching the websites listed below:
Air Force—http://www.afjag.af.mil
Army—http://www.jagcnet.army.mil
Coast Guard—http://www.uscg.mil/legal
Marine Corps—http://www.marines.mil/unit/judgeadvocate/Pages/Home/SJA_to_the_CMC.aspx
Navy—http://www.jag.navy.mil
What if you are a military family but do not live on a military installation? This is frequently the case with active duty members assigned to recruiting commands. Most universities who have Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs or military professional development programs have active duty members assigned. Many active duty military members are also assigned to reserve and National Guard units.
So what do you do if you are not close enough to take advantage of the military installation’s services? Active duty service personnel have a sponsor military installation designated to help them regardless of their location. Ask your commander where your support installation is located. National Guard Assistance Centers are also available in every state. To find the National Guard Family Program you can visit www.jointservicesupport.org online.
Your link to military help is never far away. If you are not serving on a military installation, but need legal assistance, use this link to help you find the nearest legal assistance office: http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php. Military legal JAGs can assist you with all your child identity theft needs. If a letter is required, they can write it. If a phone call stating representation is required, they can handle it. If attorney intervention is required, they can help you.
Still have questions? Turn to Military OneSource at http://www.militaryonesource.mil. You can also call them at (800) 342-9647. Military OneSource is available to active duty, reserve, and National Guard members and their family members. The Military OneSource consultants can make referrals on a wide range of issues, including identity theft and child identity theft. They can direct you to resources in person, via telephone, or on the Internet. Military OneSource is a great resource for military families.
Question #97: Sample letters to credit agency and business
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Credit Agency’s Name (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, TransUnion)
Agency Address
Dear ________,
This letter is in reference to credit file ______________ (Name), Account # ___________. I hereby request under the provisions of the 1977 Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act that you prove to me in writing the accuracy of the reporting in this credit report. In accordance with the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have 30 days to prove the accuracy contained in the report referenced or remove any and all information from my report.
I have sent this information via certified mail, return receipt requested, and expect a response within 30 days. If you do not respond within 30 days, I may exercise my right to meet with my counsel concerning my legal options.
My contact information for you to call me is as follows: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Account #
Name of business or credit issuer
Address
Dear Business,
I am the parent of ___________________________, who is a minor under the age of 18. I have reviewed the account bill you submitted to my child and have found what I believe to be a fraudulent charge or charges. I wish to dispute the charge on [date] ____________ on the account in the amount of ____________. My child did not make this charge, and thus may have been the victim of child identity theft.
Please remove all charges associated with this disputed incident and close the account. Upon closure, please notify me in writing at the address provided. Enclosed are copies of the police and Federal Trade Commission Complaint forms filed.
Sincerely,
Parent’s Name
Enclosures: (Provide the business a list of what you are enclosing)
Question #98: Journal log sample
Table 7.1 shows a sample of a journal log. Use this format, or one of your own, to assist you in tracking businesses, agencies, and individuals you contact in reference to your child’s identity theft victimization. A journal provides you with a record of contacts and assists you in organization.
Table 7.1.
Date
Contact
Telephone
Address
Comments
Question #99: Where can I find other resources on child identity theft?
I embarked on my quest to write this book because, as a law enforcement investigator, I saw that this crime was occurring but could not find resources on its aspects and intricacies. I attempted to research the topic very diligently, but found that there were no books in print on the specific subject of child identity theft, and few websites that even mentioned it as a crime.
What I did find was quite a few resources on identity theft committed against adults. Not many of the identity theft books on the market even mention child identity theft. The books that do mention child identity theft reference child identity theft as a subtopic with a broad description. What I found lacking are the elements of the crime and the steps you need to take to protect your child as a parent, gu
ardian, school administrator, service provider, and so on.
Though finding information on child identity theft was difficult, multitudes of articles detail the thousands upon thousands of children victimized each year and their stories are available throughout the world. These articles were found on the Internet on magazine, television station, and newspaper sites. The articles were detailed in their description of children and their victimization, as well as their financial ruin.
A common trend discovered was that identity theft services were capitalizing on the lack of information available and were sponsoring websites and articles on the topic of child identity theft. The information was geared toward making the reader believe that the answer to their fears would be found in purchasing their protection product. In a previous question, the issue of purchasing or not purchasing identity theft services was addressed. In looking for a resource, I look to see if the website tells you all of the truth, such as that the ninety-day credit alert, for which the services charge, can be done for free by the citizen.
These types of issues are of concern and need to be addressed. One of the first things I look for in child identity theft websites, articles, or handouts is who sponsors them. If it is an identity theft protection service, then I am skeptical about the information contained in the publication. Public service entities and businesses that partner with identity theft service providers need to go the extra mile and ensure that all facts are exposed to the reader. If that is done, then the sponsor and the business gain credibility with the public and deserve the respect and business the publicity generates.
Child Identity Theft Page 22