Data breaches are always a good reminder for adults to check their credit reports.
But what about children and teens?
“There’s no morality here that they’re not going to do that to kids. Kids are just as much of a target, if not more so,” explained Eva Velasquez, CEO of the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, about 2% of U.S. identity theft reports in 2025 so far have involved children under age 19. And just like adults, kids are at risk when data breaches compromise things like Social Security numbers or medical information.
Consumer experts say identity theft of children’s personal data can be really attractive to scammers because often there’s no one minding the store.
Velasquez said many cases of child ID theft go undetected for years because they’re not making regular transactions like adults.
It’s not until the first credit card application or college loan application that these kinds of breaches are even detected.
“One of the reasons that children’s identities are so appealing to the bad actors is because kids don’t engage in the world the same way adults do,” Velasquez said.
The FTC says if a child is under age 16, parents should request a free credit freeze to make it harder for someone to open new accounts in their name.
The major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- all have instructions on how to do this.
Velasquez said the process can not be completed online, but the effort is worth the peace of mind.
“It does take a little bit of legwork. You not only have to provide the documents in a different way, you also have to demonstrate that you have the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of this child,” Velasquez said.
Parents who believe their child’s information has been compromised should check if their child has a credit report. Since it’s uncommon under the age of 18, that could be a red flag for fraud.
Velasquez said it’s also really important to teach children about the value of their personal information so they are not so willing to give away details like Social Security numbers, dates of birth and addresses, especially online.