NEW YORK -- Among the people Linda Foley is currently working to help are a 3-year-old whose Social Security number is being used by someone for work purposes. And there's a 5-year-old whose identity is linked to driver's licenses, arrest warrants for drunken driving and a warrant for unpaid child support.

These stories may sound unusual, but Foley has heard of many such situations since she started the San Diego-based Identity Theft Resource Center in 1999, and she's convinced that the poaching of children's identities is more common than anyone knows.

Because identity theft is typically associated with financial matters like the misuse of credit cards, most people don't consider the possibility that their child's personal information could be stolen and misused. But more than 34,000 reports of identity theft reported to the Federal Trade Commission from 2005 to 2007 concerned children under age 18.

"I think we just see the tip of the iceberg, we don't know how deep this problem goes," Foley said.

One reason there is no clear figure for the number of children affected is that the crime often goes unnoticed for many years, explained Scott Mitic, chief executive of TrustedID, a Redwood, Calif., company that offers ID protection services.

Usually, there's a narrow time gap between the discovery and the theft, Mitic said of identity theft in general. "But in this age group, you're much more likely to see a lag."

Because children don't have complex financial lives, there is less opportunity to notice that something has gone awry than for adults who try to access loans, mortgages and credit cards -- one major factor that plays into child identity theft going undetected for years.

A second major reason is that frequently, the thief is a parent or other relative of the child.

"In excess of 50 percent of all child ID theft involves a perpetrator who is one of the parents or someone who is close to the family," estimated Foley, basing her figure on counseling experience and work with law enforcement agencies.

That was the case for Randy Waldron Jr., now 27, who has spent the last decade trying to clean up his reputation.

"My father began using my Social Security number in 1982," Waldron said. But his father was not a part of his life as a child, and it wasn't until 16 years later, when Waldron was applying for college, that it was discovered he had run up a total of $22.5 million in debt in his son's name.

The tally included myriad accounts from unpaid utility bills to defaulted credit cards and back taxes. There was even an unpaid storage facility rental that ballooned to a $10,000 debt.

"It took many years to correct it," Waldron said, estimating he has spent about $30,000 in attorney fees to clear his name. "I am still hounded by credit card companies, I am still hounded by collection agencies."

Waldron, who lives in Revere, Mass., has worked with Foley in handling his own personal matters and is now trying to start an organization on the East Coast to help other victims, the Center for Compromised Identities and Child Identity Theft.

Though you may feel secure in your own family, another recurring scenario is that a child's Social Security number becomes associated with a different name -- a technique that's sometimes used by an undocumented immigrant or someone who is trying to avoid child support payments. "As amazing as it sounds, it is still very difficult for an employer to establish that a Social Security number they've been given corresponds to the person they are employing," said TrustID's Mitic.

"The reason thieves prey on children is for one simple fact, it's because a child in this country is born into a society where you're required to have a Social Security number, and that Social Security number gives you a clean credit record, a clean slate," Waldron said. "If a child identity thief gets a hold of a child's Social Security number at this instant, the parent may not know for 18 years."

Tips to protect your child's identity

* Teach your child not to give out personal information, particularly online.

* Shred all papers to be thrown away that contain account numbers or Social Security numbers.

* Store your child's Social Security card in a safe place at home or in a safe deposit box. Neither you nor your child should carry the card in a wallet.

* If you receive a pre-approved credit application or similarly unusual offer for your child in the mail, investigate.

* If you have reason to believe there may be fraud, write (certified return receipt) to the three credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion -- and ask for a credit report in your child's name. A child should not have a credit report. Sample letters and addresses are available at www.idtheftcenter.org.

* If you discover a credit report in your child's name, ask to have all accounts, applications and collection notices removed, and have a free security freeze put on the file.

* Ask if adults who work with your child and might have access to sensitive information -- such as coaches, scout leaders or other activity leaders -- have had a background check. Also, be careful when providing documents like birth certificates to activity leaders, and ask to be notified if they will be shown to other people.

* If you think there may be a problem, contact the Social Security Administration for a copy of an earnings statement for your child. If it shows that your child has earned wages, it could indicate theft of the child's Social Security number. For details, visit www.ssa.gov/mystatement.

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