Foster Children Targets for Identity Theft:

When Tyrome Sams turned 18 two years ago, he engaged in a modern rite of passage: he applied for a credit card. Credit wasn’t hard to come by then, yet Sams was refused again and again. Eventually he requested a credit report-and that’s when he found out that when he was a 12-year-old in foster care, someone had opened utility accounts in his name, amassing hundreds of dollars of debt. “Anybody could have gotten hold of my information,” says Sams, a tall, thick-shouldered Californian whose youth is betrayed only by a voice that still cracks on occasion. “I’m 20 now and I’m still trying to fix the problem.”

Sams’s case isn’t just an unfortunate fluke. Identity theft among foster kids is common, and for good reason: they’re easy targets. They move often among various homes and schools, so their personal data pass through dozens of hands. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego, half of the 84,000 kids in California’s system may have been victimized. The problem got so bad that in 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring credit checks for kids in state care when they turn 16. But it had no enforcement mechanism, and overburdened case workers had more urgent concerns than credit. An October 2008 study from Javelin Strategy and Research found that one in 20 children overall have been the victims of identity theft, averaging $12,000 in wrongly assigned debt. “We were stunned by the results,” says Bo Holland, CEO of Debix Credit Protection, which commissioned the study. Most foster kids discover the fraud only after they “age out” of the system. By then, according to another Javelin study, it typically costs more than $1,000 and 150 hours to clear up the problem. And that’s if you know what you’re doing. These kids don’t. “The onus is on the victim to clear their name,” says Tiffany Johnson, associate director of the California Youth Connection, but “when you emancipate from foster care, you have no legal representation. These people don’t have the resources to fight. They’re basically screwed.”

See the full report at Newsweek.

Children Easy Targets for Identity Thieves:

Financial educator Cynthia Nevels would rather not see one subject that’s been appearing in some of her students’ essays: theft of their identity by a parent.

And sadly, it’s been appearing with regularity, said Nevels, executive director of the Jr. Finance Literacy Academy in Irving, which teaches money management skills to kids from kindergarten through high school.

“I can guarantee either one or two students out of any [financial education] camp will say … that they have experienced that by a parent or a family member,” she said.

Children are especially enticing targets for identity thieves because it can take years before the crime is discovered. And they’re easy prey for unscrupulous family members who have ruined their own credit and use the child’s Social Security number to obtain credit fraudulently.

See the full report at The Dallas Morning News

Identity Thief Mom Gets Three Years Mental Health Treatment for Stealing Daughter’s Identity:

34-year-old Wendy Brown will serve up to three years in a mental institution for using her daughter’s identity to enroll at Ashwaubenon High School and try out for the cheerleading squad in August.

A forensic psychiatrist found that Brown suffered from bipolar and borderline personality disorder, which resulted in delusional mental illness.

Source:  greenbaypressgazette.com

Jackson Hewitt Puts Woman’s Identity at Risk:

A Savannah women’s personal information wasn’t stolen. It was accidentally passed on after she used a local tax preparer.

It all started with what she thought was a simple tax return preparation.

The next day, she received a phone call from a clothing store claiming they had her personal information, copies of her license, social security number and her children’s social security numbers.

Source: WTOC

Kids Are Easy Prey for Identity Thieves:

Because identity theft is typically associated with financial matters like the misuse of credit cards, most people don’t consider the possibility their child’s personal information could be misused. But more than 34,000 reports of identity theft reported to the Federal Trade Commission from 2005 to 2007 concerned children under age 18.

Because children don’t have complex financial lives, there is less opportunity to notice something has gone awry than for adults who try to access loans, mortgages and credit cards.

A second major reason is that frequently, the thief is a parent or other relative of the child.

Though you may feel secure in your own family, another recurring scenario is that a child’s Social Security number becomes associated with a different name – a technique that’s sometimes used by an undocumented immigrant or someone trying to avoid child support payments.

Source: Mlive.com

by Rob Douglas

Today, I was a guest on CyberHood Watch Radio hosted by Dave Ballard and Bill Wardell of CyberHood Watch. We discussed identity theft with a focus on the increasing threat to families and children.  You can listen to an archived recording of the show at It’s Your Identity Defend It – If Not Yours – Your Children.

Dave is the senior editor, creator and developer of New Internet Security.  Bill is also a sought after speaker and the co-host of CyberHood Watch Radio.  Dave’s interest in Internet safety was born of his love for his wife and five kids.  Dave says:

“From early on I engaged the kids in computers telling them, “This is your future.” What I failed to foresee was the nefarious, pervasive, and pandemic scourge unleashed by the underworld. The Internet is too valuable a resource, for “good”, to allow it to be perverted by organized crime and sick-minded individuals. That’s why Bill and I have partnered together, to arm you with knowledge and to keep you and your family out of harms-way. The Internet is here to stay, join us in preserving this valuable resource and by doing so we’ll create a safer Internet for all our families and their children.”

Bill is the senior editor, creator and developer of Online Security Authority, the author of “Don’t Take Candy From Strangers” and an Authority Site Center certified coach.  Bill is also a sought after speaker, national radio guest, co-host of CyberHood Watch Radio, publisher and researcher.

Bill is a husband and father of three.  Bill says:

“The love for his family has been the driving force behind his success over the last few years, and he has been actively been pursuing his passion of becoming a online entrepreneur. His main focus has been working and dealing with the security issues of the day, such as ID theft, online predators, MySpace, teen and children security issues when it comes to Internet safety.”

I hope you’ll take the time to listen to the show on CyberHood Watch Radio for a great discussion about children and identity theft.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me at rob @insideidtheft.info

by Rob Douglas

Tomorrow, December 2nd, at 1 pm EST, I will be a guest on CyberHood Watch Radio hosted by Dave Ballard and Bill Wardell of CyberHood Watch. We’ll be discussing identity theft with a focus on the increasing threat to children.

Dave is the senior editor, creator and developer of New Internet Security.  Bill is also a sought after speaker and the co-host of CyberHood Watch Radio.  Dave’s interest in Internet safety is born of his love for his wife and five kids and Dave says:

“From early on I engaged the kids in computers telling them, “This is your future.” What I failed to foresee was the nefarious, pervasive, and pandemic scourge unleashed by the underworld. The Internet is too valuable a resource, for “good”, to allow it to be perverted by organized crime and sick-minded individuals. That’s why Bill and I have partnered together, to arm you with knowledge and to keep you and your family out of harms-way. The Internet is here to stay, join us in preserving this valuable resource and by doing so we’ll create a safer Internet for all our families and their children.”

Bill is the Senior Editor, Creator and Developer of Online Security Authority, the Author of “Don’t Take Candy From Strangers” and an Authority Site Center Certified Coach.  Bill is also a sought after speaker radio guest, co-host of CyberHood Watch Radio, publisher and researcher.

As a husband and father of three, Bill says:

“The love for his family has been the driving force behind his success over the last few years, and he has been actively been pursuing his passion of becoming a online entrepreneur. His main focus has been working and dealing with the security issues of the day, such as ID theft, online predators, MySpace, teen and children security issues when it comes to Internet safety.”

I hope you’ll join Dave, Bill and me tomorrow at 1 pm EST on CyberHood Watch Radio for a great discussion about children and identity theft.