How can I find out if my child's identity has been stolen?

Question

Won't pulling a credit report like I do for myself cause a bad mark on my child's credit history? Also, will this start my child's credit file if one didn't already exist?

Answer 1

This wouldn't put a bad mark on your child's credit history unless you go through one of the "free" credit reporting sites... GO TO ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM as that's the government's site and will not harm you to check your child's credit as long as you fill out the information. This wouldn't create a credit file because it isn't a hard inquiry. I hope that helps!

Answer 2

I don't know how old your child is but a credit file is not established until credit has been granted by a cc or other institution. If your child is underage then it is highly unlikely anyone could establish credit under his name. One thing you might want to look at is seeing if your state has a credit freeze law. I think 23 states have some form of this law. It basically means that you as the consumer have control over who sees your credit file. A credit freeze is an order to to the reporting bureaus to forbid any credit inquiries without your consent. ID theft is no possible if a credit check cannot be obtained. Might be something to consider for yourself and your entire family. Check with your state's department of consumer affairs to see if credit freeze is there.

Answer 3

Contact SS to see if any wages are posting
And getting the credit report every year is NOT going to hurt the rating . . . whereas , someone racking up debts on it would REALYYYYY trash it .

I would also send a certified letter to each of the big 3 credit agencies , saying that SS is a childs # for tax purposes and NO credit should be issued against it until he turns at least 18 .

Answer 4

Do a credit check and get your credit report. Request information from each creditor to verify that everything is correct if there is an unfamiliar entry on the report. good luck. Yes, it will hurt your child's credit if you do not take action to verify whether information is correct or not.
If you pull a credit report on your own, this does not affect your credit score and does not apprear as an inquiry to other creditors when they request your credit report.

Answer 5

ID Theft is out of control (10 million people ID's are stolen per yr), and Childrens ID's are now the #1.

today, criminals aim for the childrens ID's... because most parents wouldnt think anything of it, nor detect it.

your right to be concerned and want to know... to protect your child.

1) run a free credit report from each agency (your allowed one free one per year, per agency). you need to know, so you need to get them.
2) if ID Theft has occured, you need to make a police report first. the rest of what you need to do, is listed in the links below (with GREAT info too).
3) some states allow you to 'lock' or 'freeze' credit reports; to protect against theft. if your state allows it, lock 'em down. that way, no one can open an account on them.
4) once you discover their credit reports have activity on them, then contact each credit reporting agency (the 3 major ones) and report the ID Theft... and request the lock on the reports (usually they automatically do it, but ask for it anyway).

CREDIT REPORT INFO / REPAIRS
http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/starting/archive/2007/st0221.htm
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b1.asp
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpfaq
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/forms/credit-report-error-fix.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/bankruptcy/20070313_credit_report_stains_a1.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/forms/credit-report-error-fix.txt
http://bankrate.com/

TO ORDER A FREE CREDIT REPORT
(all three are free once a year)
NEW LAW: FREEZE YOUR
CREDIT REPORT (NJ)!!
(state.nj.us/dobi/creditfreeze.htm)

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
www.equifax.com
1-800-685-1111
_______________
Experian
P.O. Box 19719
Irvine, CA 92623
www.experian.com
1-888-397-3742
_______________
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
www.transunion.com
1-800-916-8800



Personalize the form letter below by entering your specifics in the CAPITALIZED areas.


DATE

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

TransUnion LLC
Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022

Experian
National Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013

ID THEFT HELP/ INFO
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/index.shtml
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
http://www.fraudguides.com/consumer-identity-theft-children.asp
http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/
http://www.ncpc.org/media/current.php
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03
http://www.myidfix.com/

Answer 6

if u pull your own report, it wont hurt your score..