The Conservative Cave
Current Events => Economics => Topic started by: BlueStateSaint on October 06, 2010, 02:27:43 PM
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If I were ever as stupid as to do this, I would hope that someone would have the good sense to ensure a very slow, very painful death for me.
All in The Family: Parents Stealing Kids' Identities
By Karen Kroll
Published October 06, 2010 | CreditCards.com
Identity theft can be a horrible crime, no matter who's behind it. Victims may spend years trying to convince others -- creditors,potential employers and, at times, the police -- that they didn't run up the bills or commit the crimes to which their names are attached.
However, one type of identity theft that's particularly insidious is the theft of a child's identity by a parent. For starters, the crime may go undetected for years, until the child is old enough to apply for a job or loan. In the meantime, the parent may continue to destroy the child's credit record. The emotional wounds can be just as devastating, as the victims wonder how someone they trusted could so cavalierly abuse their relationship.
Last year, about 7% of the identity theft victims were aged 19 or younger, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC: 25.31 ,0.00 ,0.00%) reports. At the moment, it's difficult to find firm statistics on the portion of ID theft that occurs between a parent and child.
What to look for
However, "our sense is that it seems to have increased," says Steve Toporoff, an attorney with the FTC. Several factors likely are behind this, he adds. The economy, not surprisingly, is one.Parents struggling through a long period of unemployment may damage their own credit and use their child's as a replacement. Some parents use their childrens' identities to provide the kids themselves with pricey clothes and other gear.They figure the child can sort it out when he or she turns 18, says Linda Foley, co-founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).
Unfortunately, it's not all that difficult for parents to steal their children's identities. After all, they're the ones who apply for a newborn's Social Security number. The ITRC lists several signs that may indicate a child's identity has been stolen by a parent or relative with access to the child's Social Security number. Among them:
The rest of this is at:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/10/05/family-parents-stealing-kids-identities/
I could easily see DUmors doing this.
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How awful to do that to your child
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Some people should never have kids.
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That is awful. Why would any parent do this?
If my parent's did something like that to me, I'd never talk to them again.