Should You Freeze Your Child’s Credit File?

How Child Identity Theft Happens

Identity theft is when a person uses someone else's name, Social Security number (SSN), birth date or other personal information to commit fraud. When it happens to a child, a thief may open up credit card accounts, apply for a mortgage, rent an apartment, set up utility services or apply for government benefits using the child's personal information.

A thief may use your child's real SSN to create a fake identity, which they then use to open new credit cards or loans. Or they may invent the numbers, and when the Social Security Administration issues the same one to your child at birth, the number is already tainted.

Alternatively, a family member or friend with access to the child's SSN may apply for credit using the child's clean credit history to get better terms than they otherwise would.

When bills go unpaid, the child may then have foreclosures or delinquencies on their credit report. A child or their parents might only discover the identity theft when the child applies for credit or checks their credit reports for the first time as an adult.

Benefits of Freezing Your Child's Credit

Freezing your child's credit early limits the possibility that another person can tarnish the credit file before your child can build it themselves. Placing a credit freeze, also called a security freeze, on their credit file means the credit bureaus won't release the child's credit information to potential creditors, such as credit card companies and lenders. (The freeze doesn't prevent non-creditor third parties, such as landlords or utility companies, from viewing the child's credit report if they request to.)

Freezing credit is free and doesn't impact a child's credit score. It is easy to unfreeze the credit report, either permanently or temporarily, once the child is an adult interested in building their credit history.

How to Freeze Your Child's Credit File

You must request a security freeze individually with each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). You may freeze your child's credit up until they turn 16. At that point, your child may access their own credit reports, and they have the right to request to freeze or unfreeze them on their own.

Here are the documents and information you'll need to freeze your child's credit:

• Your driver's license or other government-issued ID
• Your Social Security number or Social Security card
• Your date of birth or birth certificate
• Your child's Social Security card
• Your child's birth certificate
• Evidence of your current address, such as a mailed bank statement or utility bill
• A list of the addresses where you've lived over the past two years

To request a child security freeze with Experian, you'll need to mail a completed minor freeze request form plus copies of the required documents; the process at the other two bureaus may differ. If you have multiple children, you can submit a request for each child simultaneously, but you'll need to send one set of documents per child. The freeze can happen quickly: After receiving your information, Experian will freeze the minor's credit file within three business days.

Here's how to freeze a child's credit at all three credit bureaus:

Experian

On Experian's Child Identity Theft Protection page, click "Add or remove a security freeze for a minor." Fill in the form and print it out. Send the completed form along with copies of the required documents to:

Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

Or, if using overnight mail:

Experian
701 Experian Parkway
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion

TransUnion does not offer an online form to complete. Instead, write a letter requesting TransUnion add a "protected consumer freeze" to your child's credit file. Include evidence of your parental status, such as a copy of your child's birth certificate, and identifying documents for both you and your child, such as copies of each of your Social Security cards. Mail these to:

TransUnion
P.O. Box 380
Woodlyn, PA 19094

Equifax

Complete and print out a minor security freeze request form. Mail the form, along with copies of the required documentation, to:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

How to Protect Your Child's Identity

To avoid child identity theft, follow these best practices:

• Use maximum caution when sharing your child's Social Security number. Ask if you can provide a different piece of identifying information instead, or the last four digits only.
• Lock up your child's important documents. Make sure even friends and extended family members can't access them. Shred documents with personal data included if you no longer need them.
• Don't post your child's birth date on social media. A birth date is a key piece of personal information. It could help a fraudster open accounts in your child's name if they already have additional identifying data from other sources.
• Talk to your child about identity theft. Explain what it is and how to prevent it. Warn your child against sharing or exposing personal data, especially on social media, and encourage them to talk to you if they suspect a problem.

The Bottom Line

While child identity theft can feel like yet one more thing to worry about, there are steps you can take to avoid it. Freezing your child's credit file can keep their personal information and credit safe. Take the time to submit a request now, and you'll ensure there's a powerful tool working in the background to limit the damage fraudsters can do.