Safeguarding Young Identities: Proactive Advice Around Cybersecurity for Kids

Ah, October. This month is known for Halloween, the Fall colors, and, for some of us, Cyber Security Awareness Month. You have probably been exposed to countless articles and ads which are important in aiding in awareness.

Have you considered how this can hit home? It’s clear there’s a threat for your organization and for yourself. The organizations you work for and the companies you buy products from can hold some of your critical personal data. This is terrifying and annoying if your information is to get exploited.

But what about your child’s data - have you thought about that?

In all this awareness, it’s best to zoom out. What brings the most value to steal for those attempting to take your data? Child data ranks incredibly high on the dark web compared to adult data. The average social security on the dark web for example can ask for somewhere between $1-$30.

Your child’s data can yield upwards of $300 and beyond. The difference in value has to do with your child’s credit. Your child likely has no debt, no credit history and will definitely not be checking their credit for some time. This gives ample time for data thieves to use the identity of your child how they see fit.

You can imagine the uses, but to frame it for you: taking out numerous low limit credit cards, purchasing assets with no intent of payment and even creating IDs.

Any of these would create headaches at a minimum and a tough start to your child’s ability to obtain legitimate credit early in their adult life.

So…what can you do?

Thankfully the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) allow you to freeze the credit of your minors. These agencies have resources dedicated to walking you through the process of putting a temporary freeze on a child’s credit and unfreezing the credit later when they’re ready to begin their journey as an adult.

The process can be time consuming (especially for me as I have four children), but what it requires in time will pay back in peace of mind. The process requires visiting the information pages for each agency and submitting a series of documents on behalf of the minor and some for yourself (to prove you’re their guardian).

Once you submit the required documents to the addresses listed, you’ll receive some letters back from the credit bureaus with unlock codes. Do not lose these codes! You’ll need them to unlock your child’s credit down the road when you’re ready.

We hope this helps you think less about security and more about living, which is what we do at Datapath every day.

Resources:

• Value of child data here

• Directions for freezing your child’s credit with the three credit agencies here: Experian + Equifax + TransUnion

---