In a radio‑style interview, host Dr. Raz and security expert Robert Siciliano discuss the growing problem of child identity theft. They explain why children are especially vulnerable—because they cannot monitor their own credit and often become targets of desperate family members seeking financial relief. Siciliano describes how a parent might rationalize opening a credit line in a child’s name to cover basic expenses, and cites a Carnegie Mellon study indicating that children are about 50 times more likely than adults to be victims, with roughly one million minors affected each year. The conversation then moves to practical detection: checking a child’s credit report through the three major bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) via the free annualcreditreport.com service. Finally, they recommend an immediate preventative step—freezing the child’s credit with each bureau, which blocks unauthorized accounts while allowing parents to control any future activity. The host encourages listeners to sign up for a newsletter for additional protective measures.
Chapters
So family stolen identity cases are not uncommon, and it can happen to you no matter where you are, no matter what age you are. So I've invited security expert Robert Siciliano here to show us how to know if your identity was stolen and what to do if that happens. So first, if you— let's start with this kid's issue. I had no idea that you could take a 3-year-old child's identity and steal it. But why are they so vulnerable to having a family member take advantage of them?
Well, obviously, you know, they can't take care of themselves, never mind prevent fraud. Right? So when this occurs in their life, they don't know that it's even happening until they turn 18 and they go apply for credit and they're denied.
I'm surprised to hear you say this, but you've argued that these aren't just bad people who are taking advantage of their kids. There might be rational motivation.
Well, think of it like this. You are a, um, a mom, maybe recently divorced, and your ex isn't paying child support, right? So then The lights go off, which means the heat goes off because you can't pay the bills. And all you want to do is take care of your child. So your friend says, "Hey, I put the electric on in my kid's name and it worked. Try that." The mom tries it, that works. Next thing you know, she gets a credit card under the child's name because she needs to buy groceries. All she wants to do is take care of her child, right? And that is the biggest problem that we see is, you know, they just are in a rock and a hard place.
Desperate people. Let's walk down the BAM here. How do we know if we've been victimized? Are there easy ways Right off the bat, if your child's not 18, to know if there's a problem.
So check your child's credit. You know, 17 and under are children, and they shouldn't even have a credit report in the first place.
So if I were to go under by one of my grandkids, there should be nothing there.
Yeah, go to Experian, TransUnion, Equifax. You go for their name, their address, and their Social Security number. If it pops up that there's no record of that person, that's a good thing.
Is it free? Is there a charge?
It costs nothing to check a person's credit through annualcreditreport.com. You can check each of the bureaus once a year. That's times 3.
We have things we can do right now to double-check. Here's the deal. It's very difficult to know who the perpetrators are. You know, Axton was a professor and had to figure it out, right? And you need hard evidence or a paper trail to be able to fulfill this. So prevent it from happening in the first place by at least finding out if there are credit reports in your name so you don't have time against you. What can people do right now, especially if they're worried about their kids? And I heard a statistic, just correct this, is it true that there's 50 times more fraud against kids and their credit than against adults?
Yeah, that's a Carnegie Mellon statistic, and that is definitely true.
50 times?
Yeah, yeah, and a million kids a year are compromised.
All right, so what do we do? How do we prevent our kids from getting in trouble?
Well, the best way to go about it is right now freeze their credit, okay? So parents, you know, you can freeze your 17-and-under kids' credit right now at Experian, TransUnion, Equifax. It's free, doesn't cost anything, and that way if an estranged spouse or a complete stranger tries to steal their identity, with their credit frozen, the parent has control.
Perfect. Listen, Robert, thanks for great advice. We're gonna be doing this in my household. I suggest you do it as well. Freeze your children's credit reports. They don't need it right now. They will need it when they're 18 and they want to buy a car. They shouldn't have to wait like I said, did, till she's, you know, halfway through her professional career to get her— get their first purchase. In addition, there are other actions parents can take to protect themselves and their children's identities right now. You're gonna find them in my newsletter, so sign up today. It's very popular, as you all know. Today's edition is gonna deal specifically with this issue. Subscribe today at DrRaz.com. We'll be right back. Thank you very much.
