While adults worry about having their financial data stolen online, they should be more concerned about their child's identity being hacked and acquired by data breachers.
"A child's Social Security number can be used by identity thieves to apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a loan or utility service, or rent a place to live," the Federal Trade Commission said.
When hackers gain access to a kid's personal information, it doesn't just provide access to Social Security numbers in health insurance and other breaches, but it allows cyber criminals to get a hold of a child's identity, which may also be a threat to their security.
New data shows that more than half a million identities of kids were stolen in the U.S. based on the ID Analytics.
Identity theft is apparently the fastest growing crime in the U.S. because of how difficult it is to solve these cases, Yahoo! Finance reported.
"There is no panacea, unfortunately," said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of The Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that offers free assistance to victims of fraud. "But thieves tend to go for the low hanging fruit, so you can try to take simple steps that will minimize your risk."
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) introduced legislation last month designed to deal with the increasing incidents of chidlren's identity being hacked, The Hill reported. The new laws would help parents create a protected, frozen credit file for their children to keep their identities safe.
