You might not think ID theft would be a threat to children, but think again.

In some ways, a child is the ideal victim, because they have no credit history (which is better than bad history) and it may be years before they discover they're a victim. Forbes magazine has a nice story on it.

A significant number of ID theft cases reported to the authorities each year involve victims under 18. We recommend parents (or kids themselves, depending on age) check their kids' credit reports about once a year. This is compared to 3x per year that we recommend for adults. All of which can be done for free. While you can request an adult credit report by phone or online, you'll have to mail in your request for a minor's credit report. If the answer is "there is no credit file on this person," that's good - that's what you want. If there is credit history on your child, you'd better find out why. Could be ID theft.

If you have problems with ID theft, you can file a complaint with our office.