Can thieves steal a child's identity? What every parent needs to know

Yes, and it happens far more often than most parents realize. Children are prime targets precisely because nobody checks their credit. A thief can use a child's Social Security number for years before anyone finds out.

By Ben, editor  ·  Updated September 2026  ·  7 min read  ·  Sources

Sources: Javelin Strategy & Research, FTC data reported by LSEG, and the Identity Theft Resource Center. Full list at the end of this article.

Why children are such easy targets

It sounds backward: why steal the identity of someone with no money and no credit history? That's exactly the point. A child's Social Security number is a blank slate. There are no existing accounts attached to it, no one monitoring it, and no reason for anyone to check it for years. A thief can open credit cards, take out loans, or even rent housing in a child's name and go undetected until the child turns 18 and applies for a first credit card, student loan, or apartment.

The numbers back this up. Javelin Strategy & Research estimates that more than 1.25 million US children were victims of identity theft and fraud in a single year, costing the average affected family more than $1,100.¹ According to FTC data, child identity theft rose 40% between 2021 and 2024.²

Who is stealing children's identities?

This is the part that surprises most parents: the thief usually isn't a faceless hacker. In roughly three out of four child identity theft cases, the person responsible is someone the child knows, such as a family member or trusted adult.³ Relatives and family friends often have easy access to a child's Social Security card and birth certificate.

The story of Axton Betz-Hamilton, who discovered as a young adult that her own mother had been using her identity since childhood, is not an isolated case. It is a documented pattern.

Outside the family, other major sources of child identity theft include:

• Data breaches at schools: schools store large amounts of student data, sometimes including SSNs, medical records, and home addresses. The breach of the PowerSchool platform, discovered in late 2024, exposed student and staff records across many school districts.
• Social media and gaming platforms: children share personal information freely online. Javelin's research found that children who used Twitch, Twitter (now X), and Facebook were the most likely to have their personal information exposed in a data breach.¹
• Medical identity theft: a child's insurance information can be used to bill for care they never received, leaving a confusing trail that can affect their coverage.
• Synthetic identity fraud: thieves combine a real child's SSN with a fake name and birth date to create a new "person," then slowly build credit before making large fraudulent purchases.

How does child identity theft go undetected for so long?

The simple answer: nobody checks. Adults regularly hit moments that reveal identity theft, like a declined card, a rejected loan application, or a strange entry on a credit report. Children have none of these touchpoints.

As a result, many victims don't find out until they're young adults, often when they apply for a student loan, a first credit card, or an apartment. By then, cleaning up years of fraudulent accounts, collections, and delinquencies can be a serious, time-consuming process.

Warning signs that your child's identity may have been stolen

Many of these signs won't appear until your child is older, which is exactly why early action matters. Watch for these red flags:

• Your child receives pre-approved credit card offers or loan solicitations in the mail
• Your child receives collection calls or debt collection letters
• Your child is denied government benefits because benefits are already being paid under their SSN
• The IRS tells you your child's SSN was already used on another tax return
• A health insurance claim is denied because your child's benefits appear to be used up
• When your child turns 18 and checks their credit, accounts already exist that they never opened

How to protect your child's identity: a practical checklist

What to do if your child's identity has already been stolen

If you find fraudulent accounts or a credit file that shouldn't exist, move quickly. The longer fraudulent accounts stay open, the more damage they cause.

1. Report it at IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC's site creates a personalized recovery plan and an official Identity Theft Report, which you'll need when disputing accounts.
2. Place a fraud alert and a credit freeze at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A fraud alert is free and lasts one year; a freeze is also free and stays in place until you lift it.
3. Contact every creditor with a fraudulent account. Provide your Identity Theft Report and ask that the account be closed and the charges removed. Keep records of every call and letter.
4. File a police report if a creditor requires one, or if you know who committed the theft.
5. Get help if the damage is extensive. The Identity Theft Resource Center offers free help at idtheftcenter.org or 888-400-5530. Paid services like IDShield, which assigns licensed private investigators to restoration cases, can also handle creditor calls and dispute letters for you.

The bottom line

Child identity theft isn't a rare edge case. It's a documented, growing problem affecting roughly one in fifty children every year. It's so damaging for the same reason it's so attractive to thieves: nobody checks. A free credit freeze at all three bureaus stops most new-account fraud cold. Do that today, handle your child's SSN carefully, and consider family monitoring, and your child will be well protected long before they ever use the financial system on their own.

Written by

Ben

Ben runs IdentityTheftComparisons.com and leads its research and reviews. He checks each service's plans, pricing, and insurance terms against the provider's own documentation and independent sources, and re-verifies every page each quarter.

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