Child ID theft

If your kids start getting credit card offers in the mail, it's no joke. It's quite possible their identities have been stolen. A way to find out is to check with the Social Security Administration, to see if they have earnings reports, SCnow.com in South Carolina reports. Just how can this happen? It's actually not usually an online problem. "Identity thieves can steal a child’s information in a number of ways," according to SCnow.com. "Many times a parent will use his or her child’s identity because of their own bad credit. But strangers can also get the information fairly easily by sifting through trash, stealing mail, or taking it from a form that’s not properly protected." A whole group of kids became victims after their pediatrician's office left a patient check-in book with names and social security numbers out on the medical office counter. Check out the SCnow article to see what the Federal Trade Commission says to do if a toddler you know has an earnings report - or go to OnGuardOnline.com's page on ID theft or the FTC's index to all its resources on the subject.