Child Identity Theft Guide: How to Check, Freeze and Recover Your Child’s Credit

A child's identity can be stolen and misused for years before anyone notices, because nobody checks a credit file that should not exist. Child identity theft is when someone uses a child's personal details, most often a US Social Security number (SSN), name and date of birth, to open credit, get benefits, file taxes or take a job. The damage usually surfaces at the worst moment: a refused student loan, a first phone contract or a benefits claim. This guide explains, in plain English, how it happens, the warning signs, how to check whether your child already has a credit file, how freezes for minors work at each of the three US credit bureaus, what to ask schools, and how to recover. It is written for parents, guardians, foster carers and the people who advise them, with a short note for UK families.

Key takeaways

• A credit report for a child is itself a warning sign. The FTC notes that children under 18 generally do not have a credit report, so finding one usually means someone is using the child's details.
• Freezing a child's credit is free in the US. A parent or guardian can freeze the file of a child under 16 at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; the freeze stays until it is removed, and teenagers aged 16 and 17 can manage their own.
• The three bureaus handle minors differently. Equifax creates a file and freezes it, TransUnion freezes only if it finds a file, and Experian answers minor requests by post or upload within about 10 to 15 days.
• Schools and paperwork are common leak points. Ask why a school needs the SSN, store birth certificates and Social Security cards locked away, and shred old paperwork.
• Recovery follows the adult route with extra documents. Close fraudulent accounts with written confirmation, ask the bureaus to delete them, freeze the file and report at IdentityTheft.gov.

What it is

The FTC defines child identity theft as someone using a child's sensitive information, such as their Social Security number, name, address or date of birth, to get services, benefits or credit. It differs from adult identity theft in three ways:

• Nobody is watching: adults see statements, credit alerts and debt letters. A child has none of these, so misuse can run until the child applies for credit as a young adult.
• The number is clean: a child's SSN has no credit history and no conflicting address, which makes it attractive for building a new credit identity.
• Repair needs a guardian: the child cannot dispute accounts alone, so parents and guardians must prove their authority with birth certificates, court orders or placement letters.

The thief is not always a stranger. Relatives, people in the household and others with access to family paperwork are a known source, which matters for how you respond. Where a family member is involved, the steps below still apply, but you may want advice before reporting. See the Identity Theft Recovery Guide for the general recovery process this page builds on.

How it works

How a child's details are misused

The FTC lists four warning signs: a call or bill about an overdue account you never opened in the child's name; being denied government benefits such as health coverage because someone is already using the child's SSN; an IRS letter about unpaid income tax for the child; and the child being refused a student loan because of bad credit they did not create. See the Synthetic Identity Fraud Guide for how lenders detect made-up identities.

Checking whether your child has a credit file

The FTC advises contacting all three bureaus and asking for a manual search for your child's SSN. Expect to provide your own government ID, proof of address such as a utility bill or insurance statement, the child's birth certificate and Social Security card, and proof of guardianship if you are not the parent named on the birth certificate. Send copies, not originals.

• Experian: parents and guardians submit a minor request form by post to Experian, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, or upload it at experian.com/upload. Reports for children aged 13 or under cannot be accessed online. Experian says most responses arrive within 10 to 15 days.
• TransUnion: offers a secure online form to check for an existing file and states that the check does not create one.
• Equifax: handles minors through its Minor Freeze process by post (below).

Freezing a child's credit

The FTC states that a free freeze is available for a child under 16 and stays in place until you ask the bureaus to remove it, while 16 and 17 year olds can request and remove a freeze themselves. You must contact each bureau separately.

Which approach to choose: for a young child with no signs of misuse, a freeze at all three bureaus is the strongest low-effort protection, accepting that at TransUnion it only applies if a file exists. Paid monitoring adds little for a child whose file is frozen. If there are signs of misuse, check first, then dispute and freeze. Remember to lift the freeze before your child applies for a student loan, first credit card or phone contract. Adult freezes and fraud alerts are covered in the Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Guide.

Tax protection with an IP PIN

The IRS Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number that stops anyone else filing a tax return with an SSN. Parents and guardians can request one for dependants. Because under-18s cannot use the IRS app or online account route, the IRS points families to Form 15227 (subject to income limits) or an in-person appointment at a Taxpayer Assistance Center. A new PIN is issued every calendar year. See the Tax Identity Theft and Tax Scams Guide.

Schools and children's data

The FTC suggests four questions before giving a school your child's SSN: why do you need it, how will you protect it, can you use a different identifier, and can you use only the last four digits? In the US, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA, 20 U.S.C. 1232g and 34 CFR Part 99) gives parents the right to inspect their child's education records, ask for them to be amended and have some control over disclosure, with the rights passing to the student at 18 or on entering post-secondary education.

School platform breaches often expose contact and enrolment data rather than SSNs. In the Canvas Instructure breach, the company reported usernames, email addresses, enrolment information, messages and student IDs taken, and said it had no evidence that dates of birth or government identifiers were affected. That data still fuels convincing phishing aimed at students and parents, so treat follow-up emails about a school breach with care. The Cybersecurity for Schools Guide covers the school side.

Children in foster care

US federal law (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(I)) requires that each child in foster care aged 14 or over receives a free copy of any consumer report about them every year until they leave care, with help interpreting and resolving inaccuracies. Foster carers and caseworkers should make sure this check happens and that freezes are considered, since foster children's details pass through many hands.

UK families

UK children usually have no credit file, and the UK has no US-style statutory credit freeze. Once your child is an adult they can get a free statutory credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, as the ICO explains, and a check around their 18th birthday is a sensible habit. Report identity fraud through Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025) on 0300 123 2040 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland on 101.

What to do if your child's identity is stolen

1. Call the fraud department of each company where an account was opened. Ask them to close it and send written confirmation that your child is not responsible.
2. Ask each of the three bureaus to remove the fraudulent accounts from your child's report.
3. Freeze your child's credit at all three bureaus.
4. Report the theft at IdentityTheft.gov with as much detail as possible, and keep the report and recovery plan.
5. If the IRS wrote to you, follow the letter's instructions and consider an IP PIN for the child.
6. Keep copies of every letter and call note in one folder; your child may need them years later.

Why it matters

Child identity theft hurts at the point a young person tries to start independent life. A refused student loan, a blocked phone contract or a benefits refusal can come with debts and collection records built up over years, and unwinding them takes paperwork the young adult may not have. Because a child's file is unwatched, the thief can keep using it for a long time. Prevention is cheap: a freeze costs nothing and takes a few letters. Checking a child's file before age 16, and again before they apply for credit, catches most problems while the trail is short.

Common misconceptions

• "My child has no credit, so there is nothing to steal." A clean SSN is exactly what thieves want, especially for synthetic identities.
• "A freeze will hurt my child's future credit." A freeze does not affect a credit score; it only blocks new credit until it is lifted, which takes a request to each bureau.
• "One bureau will tell the others." Freezes are placed separately at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
• "Paid monitoring will protect my child." Monitoring reports problems after they happen; a freeze stops new accounts. For most children a freeze is the better first step.
• "School breaches mean an SSN was taken." Not always. Check the notice for exactly which data was involved and act on that.
• "Only strangers do this." People with access to family documents are a known source, so keep those documents locked away.

Related concepts

• Identity theft recovery: the full adult recovery process. See the Identity Theft Recovery Guide.
• Credit freezes and fraud alerts: how adult freezes and alerts compare. See the Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Guide.
• Synthetic identity fraud: made-up identities built on real numbers. See the Synthetic Identity Fraud Guide.
• Children's privacy online: what apps and sites may collect. See the COPPA and Children's Privacy Guide and Protecting Children Online: A Parent's Guide.
• Medical identity theft: misuse of health insurance details, which can include a child's cover. See the Medical Identity Theft Guide.

Practitioner checklist

• Ask Equifax, Experian and TransUnion whether a file exists for each child.
• Place a free freeze at all three bureaus for each child under 16.
• Keep birth certificates and Social Security cards locked away; shred old papers that show the SSN.
• Ask schools, clubs and doctors why they need the SSN and whether the last four digits will do.
• Consider an IRS IP PIN for each dependant.
• For foster children aged 14 or over, confirm the annual credit check happens.
• Lift the freeze before the child's first loan, card or phone contract, and check the file again at 18.
• If misuse is found, close accounts with written confirmation, dispute with the bureaus and report at IdentityTheft.gov.

Standards and references

• Federal Trade Commission: How To Protect Your Child From Identity Theft
• Equifax: Freezing Your Child's Credit Report FAQ
• Experian: Minor Child Request
• TransUnion: Credit Freeze FAQ
• IRS: Get an Identity Protection PIN
• US Department of Education: What is FERPA?
• Cornell LII: 42 U.S.C. 675 Definitions (foster care case review)
• Federal Trade Commission: IdentityTheft.gov

Related NHI Mgmt Group resources: Identity Theft Recovery Guide · Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Guide · Synthetic Identity Fraud Guide · Protecting Children Online: A Parent's Guide