This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. All opinions are 100% mine.
There is a lot of talk about identity theft these days, especially after major retail chains have had security breaches. It’s scary how much a person’s life can be effected by the act of identity theft. As adults we are becoming more and more aware and vigilant about monitoring for potential credit issues, which is good. But have you ever thought about your kids identities?
I have to admit, I never even considered the possible theft of my daughters’ identity. She’s a child, who would want that? But I was shocked to learn that thieves do, and the theft of children’s identity is on the rise. Why? Because they generally have clean credit histories, and years will pass before the crime is detected.
Thanks to a new law in Florida parents can now protect their kids’ identity by placing a temporary freeze on it until their kids are old enough to use it for themselves. Isn’t that interesting?
By freezing your child credit records you can effectively block thieves from using your child’s personal information to open a credit card, mortgage or other financial account. By freezing your child’s credit, you are blocking others from using it.
To create a credit report for your child and freeze it, contact the following credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Details on the documents these agencies will need and sample letters are available on Fresh From Florida’s website. There is a $10 fee per agency to freeze your child’s credit, but think of the $30 price tag as an investment in your child’s future credit history.
Note, the fee is waived if your child has already been the victim of identity theft.
Any parent or legal guardian of minors up to 16-years-old may sign up their child. The freeze lasts until the parent contacts the credit bureau to remove the freeze, or until the child reaches adulthood and asks for the freeze to be removed.
Protect your children from becoming another identity theft statistic – Protect Your Child’s Identity.
What if we do not live in Florida?
That’s a good question. The highlight in FL is due to a new law recently passed providing the ability to freeze credit. I am certain we are not the first state, although I don’t know about the availability in other states. My recommendation would be to Google how to protect your child’s identity in your state. After learning how prevalent it is becoming, it sounds like something all states should offer, I just don’t know. Good luck!