Protect Your Children from Identity Theft
You may have your own ID Theft protection, but what about your kids?
Over 90% of households have kids with their own social media accounts. We all know these accounts are vulnerable. In fact, 57% of social media accounts that are hacked are “owned” by kids.1
What happens when a child’s data is breached? Hackers often use a child’s email, date of birth, and social security number to open credit card accounts or apply for insurance. Most families are totally unaware of these nefarious attacks until years later, when the child is grown and unable to open a bank account or credit card account for themselves.
Discounted Identity Protection Plans
Protect against financial and medical identity theft with a comprehensive solution you can count on.
If you are fortunate enough to learn about your children’s stolen data early, it’s still a messy and arduous process to settle. Child ID Theft is often harder to detect, parents aren’t sure of who or where to turn, and freezing children’s credit takes longer in general than doing so for adults. It can take 16 hours of work—or more—to resolve a child’s ID theft, compared to about nine hours to clear up an adult’s case.1
Tips for Preventing a Child’s Breach
You truly can’t be too careful about your children’s use of the internet and digital devices. Here’s what you can do to protect your child’s data:
- Limit and monitor screen time (ID Theft being just one of many reasons!)
- Educate your kids on the need for cyber privacy and not to talk to strangers online
- Enroll in a family Identity Protection plan
What to Do if Your Child’s Data is Breached
You need to act fast. The quicker you can act, the less damage there is to repair. Take these steps immediately:
- File a police report
- Reach out to your financial institutions
- Freeze your child’s credit
- If you’re enrolled in a family Identity Protection plan, contact your provider for assistance handling some of these steps (and many others) on your behalf
Our ID Protection plan monitors activity for nine different types of identity theft, including Child Identity Protection. Click here to learn more.
1Kitten, Tracy. Child Identity Fraud. Javelin Strategy & Research. November 15, 2022, https://applauncher.gotowebinar.com/#webinarOver/524171704549369101/en_US