Child Identity Theft: How to Freeze and Protect Your Child’s Credit

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
What is child identity theft?
How does child identity theft occur?
How to protect your child from identity theft
Freeze your child’s credit
1. Gather the needed documents to freeze your child's credit
- Your government-issued ID (usually a driver’s license).
- Your birth certificate.
- Your child’s birth certificate or other document showing you have the authority to act on the child’s behalf (foster care certification, power of attorney or court order).
- Your Social Security card.
- Your child’s Social Security card.
- A utility bill or bank or insurance statement with your name and address on it.

2. Fill out child freeze request forms for all three credit bureaus
3. Mail the request and document copies
4. Wait for confirmation of the freeze, then store it securely
Other ways to prevent child identity theft
- Protect Social Security numbers. Many forms ask for a Social Security number without much explanation of how that information will be used. Unless you are told why that field is necessary and how the information will be protected, leave it blank.
- Pay attention to mail. What's in your mailbox can provide clues about potential fraudulent activity in your child's name. For example, a credit preapproval offer in your child’s name doesn't necessarily indicate identity theft, but it's worth investigating. Correspondence from a collection agency addressed to your child is a huge red flag.
- Keep your child’s documents locked away. Birth certificates and Social Security cards shouldn't be in your purse, wallet or car. Safeguard anything with that information in your own home. That means keeping paperwork with Social Security numbers inaccessible, possibly in a home safe or locked file cabinet, out of reach from service people and visitors.
- Be careful about what you and your child share on social media. Fraudsters use even the smallest nuggets of personal information to piece together potential bank and other passwords.
- Monitor health insurance claim information. A claim that doesn't make sense to you can indicate that your child’s personal information has been used to access health insurance benefits.
- Wipe all electronics before disposing of them. Getting a new phone or computer laptop can be exciting, but don’t forget to erase the hard drives and reset phones to factory settings before recycling or reselling them. Most of these electronics contain private information and passwords that you don’t want to share.
- Consider using an identity theft protection service. Some identity theft protection services monitor your child’s credit or the dark web for use of their information, and they may help you create a fraud recovery plan if needed.
Get to know your net worth and what’s driving it.

What to do if you discover child identity theft
- Contact the companies where fraudulent accounts were opened in the minor’s name and close them. Some companies have fraud departments you can work with directly. Be sure to ask for written confirmation that your child never opened the accounts, which might be useful in the future.
- Freeze your child’s credit with all three credit bureaus and dispute any incorrect information that appears on their credit reports.
- Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission.
Article sources
- 1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What does it mean to put a security freeze on my credit report?. Accessed Sep 20, 2024.