Can someone steal your child's social security number?

Question

I just heard a story about it and was wondering if thats possible. I know someone could use my child's number but would they be able to actually get a credit card or something with it? Wouldn't their age be apparent?

Answer 1

Not all credit issuers are on the up and up.  But the larger problem is with people putting utilities into kids' name.  Which can be done and does happen, regularly.  Granted, its mostly done by the parents who have already screwed their own credit and now cant get utilities in their name, but as others have pointed out, child identity theft is on the rise.  How many times do parents check their child's credit?  Someone can steal a new borns identity, and that person might not know it until they are 18 or 19 applying for credit themselves.

Answer 2

Child-identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the US.  Yes, people can and do use a child's SSN to get jobs, open bank accounts, get credit cards and more.  Documented cases exist of children as young as 3 WEEKS old being called by collections for doctor's bills, for example.  That one was reported on CNN and elsewhere a couple years ago.  

There was testimony before Congressional hearings several years ago by an 18 y.o. who discovered at least a dozen people had been using his SSN for years -- he was turned down for a student loan to pay for college due to "bad credit," and only discovered the long-time theft several months after that.

Parents must protect their child and protect the SSN number.  Otherwise, you could be stuck like the mother of a 3 y.o. who "owes" over $100,000, including car loans on two vehicles!

Answer 3

Listen ,everything is possible OK......all you need to do is be careful and be prayerful....

Answer 4

Not if it is not being checked thoroughly. Numbers also get stolen and used from deceased persons as well.

Answer 5

yeah i worked for a collection agency for 2.5 years and i see it all the time! people are awful.. this one dude racked up an 800 phone bill under his 4 year old daughters name and ssn because his wife was in jail and they had to contact eachothr. i was so angry at that dude.

Answer 6

Yes they can but I don't think they can do much with it. They can def try to. But most companies such as credit cards u have to be atleast 18 and they will be able to tell that they are not.

Answer 7

Yes, they can just assume your child's identity. It's not likely to work because accounts and credit cannot be issued to a child.

In the event that the creditor is not diligent in checking the information thoroughly then they'd have to close any accounts and delete the information at the credit bureaus.