915,000 U.S. children were victims of identity fraud in 2022, costing an average of $1,128 for a single household—$752 for the fraud itself and $376 out-of-pocket to resolve the fraud—while spending 16 hours on resolution overall. - Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2022 Child Identity Fraud Study
Why is Child Identity data valuable to cyber criminals?
Children typically don’t have bad credit ratings which means the criminal has greater confidence their attempts to monetize stolen identity data will not be blocked by banks or government agencies.
The victims are less likely to notice their identity has been stolen, because kids don’t regularly check their bank account or credit report. Because of this, scams may go unnoticed for years.
How to protect a child’s identity.
Avoid oversharing information about your child on social media.
Monitor your child’s accounts (bank, phone, etc.) for unusual activity.
Consider a credit freeze for your child with each of the three US credit bureaus.
Keep all household machines/devices updated with the latest patches and anti-malware software.
Explain to your children the dangers of oversharing on social media, phishing and text-based attacks.
Limit the number of accounts/services your child signs up for. Put in your details where necessary instead.
Source: ESET
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