Identity Theft of 1 Yr Old Infant Leads to Bank Fraud

We've recently reported on priests, an ex-cop, & even
father/son identity theft.

But today's story, hit's an all time record low for
identity theft.

It seems an 18 month old baby has become the
youngest identity theft victim of record in
Massachusetts. The infant's social security
number was stolen by an identity thief who
subsequently used it to open not one but
two bank accounts.

The bank accounts opened were then used
to deposit fraudulent checks totalling
$19,000 causing the bank to freeze it.

Evidently, the identity thief who's wanted in
this case also attempted to secure a
driver's license in the infant's name
but was refused.

Identity theft against minors is a growing problem
which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates
400,000 children annually become victims of
identity theft. It's a big problem that takes longer
to discover than against adults.

Case in point, the infant's mother didn't discover
the crime until a year later as she attempted to
open a savings account for her son at her bank.

So, our tip for today, is it's never too early to start
the monitoring process for your loved ones. Since most
identity theft victims rarely know how the identity thief
gets their information or when, it's best to simply set
up a credit "burgular alarm" to alert you when
suspicious activity occurs.

Plus, because the identity theft against minor aged children
can also go un-noticed for years within public and criminal
records, it's prudent to check your infant's personal profile
for the non-credit items potentially lurking under their
name which will ruin their financial livelihood as adults.