Protecting children against ID theft a grim reality

SALT LAKE CITY — It's not something most parents give much thought to, but child identity theft is a growing problem in Utah and across the nation.

"Sometimes we'll get reports from a parent who has a newborn who received their Social (Security number) at birth," explained Scott Morrill, program manager with the Utah Attorney General's Office. "They received notification that somebody's been using their Social for several years."

Child identity theft in Utah is significant and growing mainly because the state has a lot of kids, said Morrill.

"We're seeing at least 75 percent of our reports child identity theft related," he said.

Much of that identity theft happens randomly, where thieves will pick numbers and sell them on the street.

"If they're doing that, they're choosing random Social Security numbers, so basically anybody can become a victim," said Morrill. "Whether you lose your card or gave it to someone else for whatever purpose and there's not much you can do to prevent that."

The grim reality is that parents may not be able to completely prevent identity theft from reaching their kids. However, Utah residents have tools to be vigilant and perhaps stay one step ahead of perpetrators, said Morrill.

"Here in the state of Utah, we have legislation that allows us to kind of identify some of these cases," he said.

These legal channels allow state officials to see the numbers and the areas in the state where child identity theft is prevalent. However, while the state has the ability to identify the frequency and location of child identity theft activity, Morrill said it's still difficult for parents to pinpoint if it's happening to their children.

"There's really not any way for a typical family to identify if their child's Social or other information is being used," said Morrill, "or if someone else is using it for either employment or credit."

That's because accessing that information presents some difficult hurdles.

"For the most part," said Morrill, "you can't go to the Social Security Administration and ask them if somebody else is using their child's Social for employment. The SSA just won't give you that information."