Child Identity Theft
The most important number you'll ever know, besides 102.9, is your Social Security number.
It's hard to believe, but it's a fact of life now that children as young as 5 months are having their identity stolen!
I was just reading a couple of articles saying that once a kid hits college and tries to start their lives, they find they have thousands of dollars in bad debt, and are a risk before they even had a chance to prove themselves. The amount of debt ranges between $10,000 to in the hundreds of thousands! The favorite age to steal an identity now is between birth and 5 years old. What blood suckers!
What can you do? Keep your kids number as if it were gold. My kids didn't actually get to keep their cards until they moved out. Nobody should get their numbers except for schools and your taxes, until they start working. I'd still never let them carry it until they're on their own. Check your child's credit once a year. I know it sounds crazy, but that's the world we live in now.