Identity thieves and scammers aren’t known for having scruples or morals. Stealing your teen’s identity (and wrecking their credit) is a real possibility for them. Here are some signs your teen’s identity might have been stolen:
- Your teen gets calls from collection agencies
- Your teen receives bills or credit cards
- Your teen gets pre-approved credit card applications
- Your teen’s bank account application is denied because of poor credit
Yikes! As a general rule, if a teen under 18 has a credit report at all, that’s not a good sign. To check to see if your teen has a credit rating (and thus, if their identity has potentially been stolen), check with the following three credit bureaus:
- Transunion
- Equifax
- Experian
If your teen is a victim of identity theft, alert all three agencies, file a police report and file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You should also contact the Identity Theft Resource Center at 888-400-5530.
We take your security (and your teen’s) seriously. Check out our page on Identity Theft to see how to protect your identity – and what to do if you think it has been stolen.