Each year there are thousands of United States residents that become victims of identity theft, including children. Identity theft affects every 1 in 10 kids in the United States. Many identity thieves are targeting younger kids under 5 because they are an easy target and will not notice anything suspicious going on until they are older. Many states have added an extra layer of protection to help eliminate identity theft for children, however; Massachusetts is not one of them.Social security numbers are issued to Springfield residents at birth. When the children go to the doctor’s office, enrolled in schools, or various other activities, the parent’s use the child’s social security number when filling out their forms. But what most parents fail to know is how well is that information protected?

One way to ensure your child’s credit report is not being abused is by checking their credit report on a yearly basis. Many parents don’t think to check their child’s report because why would they? Children are not able to apply to and they do not need to apply for credit or loans. But the thieves who have stolen your child’s information can use their details to get credit cards, open bank accounts, obtain loans and file tax returns. If parents don’t check their child’s report yearly then when the child is older and looks into getting a bank account or loan, they may find that their credit is ruined and will take years to repair.

Another big part that aids in the identity theft of children are parents who throw out personal documents with children’s information on it. When you get mail that obtains personal information, whether for yourself of your children, you need to ensure that it gets disposed of properly. The PROSHRED Springfield team can help with all of your document destruction needs and we will do so using the best industries practices to ensure your documents are securely shredded. By having the documents shredded, they will be completely unrecoverable which means they will not be able to fall into the wrong hands. If you are interested in learning more about child identity theft and how you can help to prevent it, you can read more here.

For more information about how Proshred® can assist your Springfield residents or business, call us at413-596-5479.

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