ID Theft

can someone steal your identity if you are under 18?

I'm fourteen and I was wondering can someone steal your identity if you are under 18, because I just wanted to know. And if it is possible for someone to do this is there a way for someone my age to get like identity theft protection? is there a way for me to check my credit score or my credit report for free since im under 18?

Public Comments

1. There have been cases of 2 year olds having their identity stolen. So yes it can happen.
2. Yes a person of any age can have their identity stolen. There is an article about it here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/15/earlyshow/living/ConsumerWatch/main1210020.shtml
3. yea. one of my friends was telling me how they checked his kids Social and found out that like 5 people were using it. I believe you can get identity theft protection at your age!
4. Of course they can! My former son-in-law is currently under indictment for using his 3 year old son's, my grandson's, Social Security number as I.D. with a fake name to get utilities. He also applied for credit cards with the same fake name and and my 7 year old granddaughter's number. Here is a link to the Federal Trade Commission's page on protecting your identity: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
5. Identity theft can happen anywhere to anyone. I agree with the other answers so far. It's not the question of "can it happen to me" ... you should ask yourself ... "how do I prevent it from happeing to me". If your identity is stolen, you can spend hundreds of hours cleaning up your credit and struggling to get back your good name. It's a good idea to brush up on how to avoid it all together. See the link below for a link to a video on tips to avoid becoming a victim.
6. As long as you have a SSN someone somewhere can steal your identity.