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Parents urged to protect children from ID theft

Parents have been urged to safeguard the details of their children because they are prime targets for ID theft, the Dallas Morning News reports.

According to security experts, children do not know how to protect themselves and are appealing to cyber crooks because their stolen identities can be used for long periods of time without detection.

"Children, while it doesn't occur often, are probably the most vulnerable," said Thomas Harkins, chief strategy officer for Secure Identity Systems in Nashville.

"If someone steals my child's identity, they can use that for 10 to 15 years before they [the child] apply for a loan and they find that their credit is really not good."

Among the things to watch out for, which another online security expert warned is the presence of a credit card report in the name of a child.

"A child should not have a report unless someone has started to apply for credit using that child's Social Security number," said Linda Foley of the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.

According to estimates from Identity Theft 911, about half a million under 18s fall victim to ID theft annually.

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