Daryl Campbell

Stolen Identity: Victims In The Future

Close to ten million people became victims of identity theft. But the actual number of victims may not be accurately known for years to come.

In a fraud survey report done a few years back by the Better Business Bureau, it was estimated that in fifty percent of all identity theft cases, the victims knew their perpetrators.  You would think some of these thieves would take it easy in their family or friends. Not so. According to Javelin Research the cost to clear up the mess on average is usually more than if the thief had been a total stranger.

Yet there is another group out there that cannot be tracked fully. The reason being that the damage may not be known for years to come. 
 
It’s hard to get a gage on how many of the ten million identity theft victims last year were children but it is estimated that roughly five hundred thousand kids a year fall prey. In some ways it’s almost the perfect scenario.

It’s not like kids peruse their credit history with a fine tooth comb. The majority have not even begun to establish credit. But they do have a name and a social security number and that’s all a parent or relative needs to get the ball rolling.

Of course there is another group that is on the brink of establishing credit that falls within the parameter of children and that is the college students.

Each semester these kids are bombarded with offers to get a credit card and join the ranks of people who are in debt. A lot of their personal information is floating around haphazardly so it’s is not too much of a stretch for identity thieves to go to town on any college campus or university. 

The bottom line however is when these kids become adults they will not be able to get any credit because someone has already beat them to it. A fresh clean slate wiped out through no fault of their own.

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