ID Thieves Targeting Teens

More and more teenagers are having their identities stolen.

In the second installment of her two-part series on identity theft, The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen explains that, on paper, teens have good credit and no debt. That's very enticing for identity thieves. Plus, many teens don't catch on right away that their identities have been stolen.

So a crook can steal a teenager's identity and get away with it for years and years.

As a freshman in college, Inna Ginzburg would normally be worrying about exams and writing papers. Instead, she's trying to clear her name. "You know," she says, "I'm going to school, I'm working and I have a whole life ahead of me and I have to sit here and worry about my credit report."

It's unclear how, but several years ago, someone stole Inna's identity.

She didn't find out until her 18th birthday, when she tried to get a cell phone. A stranger had already used her name and social security number to open an account, then never paid the bills — putting a black mark on Inna's credit history. "In several years," she laments, "I may want to buy a car, I may not be able to buy one."

"Identity thieves go after anybody, no matter what their situation. It is a democratic crime," points out Betsy Broder of the Federal Trade Commission.

Broder recently took part in a first of its kind summit on "Protecting Teens from Identity Theft." She says hundreds of thousands of children have their identities stolen each year, leaving them with bad credit and confusion over how to fix it. "They are turned down for the job; they can't get the cell phone; they can't get the credit account, and it's devastating for them. It's really an effort for them to clean up their credit report."

Some teenage victims face more than just a bad credit rating.

Take the case of 16-year-old Xavier Mojica. He had a DUI on his record before he even had a driver's license. "I'm not even old enough to drink," he says.

When Xavier was 8 years old, a stranger stole his identity, got a driver's license in his name, and was caught for drinking and driving. The thief also opened up credit card accounts and even took out a mortgage.

Xavier's mother, Angie Rocuant, discovered the crime when she tried to open up a bank account for her son. She is now trying to clear his name, "It's starting to feel like a hopeless experience."

Identity theft experts say teens are easy targets because they have clean credit histories and they rarely if ever check their credit reports. "That's why it's so intriguing for thieves if they can get a hold of this information and there is a number of ways of doing it," notes Linda Foley of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

All a thief needs is a child's social security number. It can be stolen by a family member or even a parent. Thieves can also steal it from your child's school or doctor's office. And many experts say teens are too free with their personal information — often duped into giving it out over the phone or online.

Koeppen says red flags should go up if you get credit card offers in the mail in your teen's name. Your kids will only get these offers if they have a credit history. Check your child's credit report. See what it says. And teach your kids about identity theft scams. Let them know they should keep their private information, private.

Teens need to learn the word no, Koeppen stresses. If someone asks them for personal information, they should say, '"Let me talk to my parents. If they say it's OK, then I will give you the information you need."

And teens need to keep documents containing their personal information, such as social security cards, locked up in a safe place. They shouldn't carry important documents on them.

If a child's information is stolen, Koeppen says, "You need to act on it immediately, or the damage to your child's credit will continue. Contact the fraud departments of the credit reporting agencies. And call the police and file a report.