Identity theft is the #1 consumer complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission for 14 consecutive years. All age and socio-economic groups are affected by Identity theft. This problem is affecting a younger demographic, affecting the workplace productivity of their parents.
Watch this presentation, get educated, and find out how you can avoid identity theft.
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Child Identity Theft LegalShield Business Solutions
1. 1
August 13, 2014
Discover Ways to
Reduce the Risk of
Identity Theft for
Your Employees
and Their Families
Presented by:
James Rosseau
A LegalShield Business Solutions Presentation
2. 2
What We’ll Cover Today
• Identity theft
• Affecting younger demographic
• Affecting your employees
• Affecting your on-job productivity
• How you can help
• Educate
• Protect
3. 3
Is Identity Theft Really a Problem?
• #1 consumer complaint filed with
the Federal Trade Commission
for 14 consecutive years
• All age and socio-economic
groups are affected
4. 4
Economic Hit
In 2011 alone—
• Approximately 11.6 million adults became a
victim of identity fraud in the United States
• Cost to the economy = approximately
$54 billion
—United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
5. 5
The Cost
Employees Distracted from Work
• Presenteeism
• Costs U.S. companies $150 billion per
year
(“Presenteeism: At Work — But Out of It.” Paul Hemp, Harvard Business Review (2004)).
• Absenteeism
6. 6
Identity Theft—All Ages Affected
19 and under
6%
20-29
20%
30-39
19%
40-49
18%
50-59
17%
60-69
12%
70 and over
8%
7. 7
Identity Theft and Children
• Hard to recognize
• Takes diligence to resolve
• Takes many hours to resolve
8. 8
Targeting the Young
A study by Carnegie Mellon CyLab concluded
that, “Identity Thieves Are Targeting Children
for Unused Social Security Numbers”
9. 9
Shocking Stats for the Young
4,311 or 10.2% of the children in
the report had someone else using
their Social Security number
10. 10
Stealing Their Future
Number of
Cases
Child’s SSN found associated with . . .
6,948 loan and credit account records
1,767 utility service records
537 records related to property assessments, deeds,
mortgages, and foreclosures
415 driver’s license records
235 vehicle registration records
11. 11
The Information Thieves Want
Highlights:
• A Social Security number
is the top compromised
identifier
• 56% of respondents
reported theft or
misuse of a child’s
Social Security
number
Figure 1 — % of victim parents who reported the particular identifier that was misused
(2012 Child Identity Fraud Report)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Social Security
number
Date of birth Birth certificate Physical
address
Top 4 Compromised Identifiers
12. 12
More Victims Than We Know
Highlights continued:
• One in 40 respondents had a child who was a victim of identity fraud.
• The actual number of victims may be higher: child identity fraud may be
underreported because family members may be connected to the fraud and
some do not find out about the fraud until the child is an adult.
• Synthetic Identity Theft is the most common method when children are victims.
• Criminals most often use the child victim’s Social Security
number with a different date of birth to create a new identity.
13. 13
No One Is Too Young To Be a Victim
0
500
1000
1500
2000
age 5 and under 6 to 10 years old 11 to 14 years 15 to 18 years
Age Distribution: Possible Cases of Identity Theft
Age Distribution:
Possible Cases of
Identity Theft
14. 14
Parents, Be Vigilant
“With increased cyber-awareness, individuals
are seeking ways to secure their personal
financial information more than ever before.
Based on this report, it’s clear they need to go
further and extend that protection for their
children . . . it is essential to safeguarding their
children’s futures.”
15. 15
Possible Signs of Child Identity Theft
• The parent is not allowed to file his or her tax return electronically because the Internal
Revenue Service already received a tax return with your child’s Social Security number (SSN)
listed on it.
• The child is denied for a government benefit or other program because someone is enrolled
with the child’s SSN.
• A parent or grandparent tries to open a bank account for the child or grandchild and is told an
account already exists associated with the child’s SSN.
• A collection agency calls about an account allegedly opened in the minor child’s name.
• A bill arrives in the child’s name for a service or product not purchased
by the child or child’s parent(s).
16. 16
Effects on the Parent
Distraction up, productivity down
• Presenteeism
• Absenteeism
The Toll on Parents
• Emotional effects
• Possible financial hardship
until resolved
17. 17
The Daunting Task…
To resolve one credit-related identity theft incident, a parent must do
the following:
Scenario: Problem discovered when a collector mails a letter to the child.
1. Parent calls collector to notify them of the fraud and learns it involves a
credit account.
2. Parent calls the financial institution that issued the account to report
the fraud.
3. Parent files a police report with local police.
18. 18
…of Fighting through…
To resolve one credit-related identity theft incident, a parent must do
the following:
4. Financial institution mails an affidavit to parent and gives further instructions.
5. Parent completes affidavit, finds a Notary so their signature on the affidavit can be
notarized.
6. Parent gathers copy of police report, child’s birth certificate and Social Security card, copy
of the parent’s driver license, utility bill for proof of address and if necessary, court papers
that show they are the legal guardian of the minor child and mails/faxes to the creditor.
7. Parent waits a few weeks and makes a follow-up call to verify fraud
department of the financial institution has the paperwork and asks if it is
resolved yet. Continues to call periodically if not yet resolved.
19. 19
…the Bureaucracy
To resolve one credit-related identity theft incident, a parent must do
the following:
8. Financial institution clears the child from the fraudulent account.
9. Later the parent calls the collector to confirm that they have closed or
returned the collection account.
10. Parent contacts all three national credit reporting agencies to verify
that if the credit account and the collection account were
connected to the child’s Social Security number in their
files, they are now separated.
20. 20
Protecting Children from Identity Theft
Steps to Reduce Risk
• Don’t carry child’s Social Security card or birth certificate
• Store those items in a secure place
• Do not share too much information about your child on social media
• Use secure access to the Internet
• Install software on computer to reduce malware
• Consider using parental control software so you can approve of sites your
children visit on Internet
• Be a good example: let children see you protect your family’s information
• For example, don’t leave your purse or wallet in your car for sake
of convenience; tell your kids why you’re taking it
• Discuss identity theft and best ways to reduce risk with your child
21. 21
Discussing Identity Theft with Children
Explain identity theft on a level the child
can understand
• What is identity theft?
• Why would someone want to steal an
identity?
22. 22
Empower Your Children
Best Practices for Reducing Risk
Teach children to not give
personal information (theirs
or their parents’) to anyone
without your permission.
23. 23
Best Practices for Reducing Risk
Advise children to not
answer emails, text
messages or phone
calls from people they
don’t know unless they
get your permission.
24. 24
Best Practices for Reducing Risk
Teach your children to get
your permission before
downloading anything
from the Internet to their
computer or phone.
25. 25
Myths Related to Child Identity Theft
Lots of media attention regarding
children and identity theft
Not all advice given is correct
26. 26
Myths Related to Child Identity Theft
Myth: Visit www.annualcreditreport.com
to find out if a credit file exists for your
child.
27. 27
Myths Related to Child Identity Theft
Myth: Everyone has a credit file once they
turn 18.
28. 28
Myths Related to Child Identity Theft
Myth: A child identity theft victim must
pay the debts created by the thief.
29. 29
More Vigilance in Parents and Kids
• Understand that identity theft
can happen to anyone—
even children
• When we make children aware
of the threat, we empower them
to protect themselves
30. 30
Reach Out to Your Employees
To help your employees, consider the following:
• Educate yourself on identity theft plans and their features
• identity monitoring service
• consultation with experts who have years of experience
• identity restoration
• Host “Lunch and Learn” programs to share information about identity
theft and best practices to reduce risk of falling victim
• Add articles and quick tips about identity theft to your
employee newsletter
31. 31
More Questions? Call Us!
If you have any follow-up questions about this topic or any of the
information presented today, please call—
Group Services
Phone: 580-421-6326
Fax: 580-421-6311
Email: GroupServices@LegalShield.com
