TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Parents have a new tool to help protect their kids' financial future. A new law that went into effect this month will prevent an identity thief from messing up a child's credit.
Identity theft is a crime that plagues Florida more than any other state in the country. Someone gets a hold of a social security number or vital information, opens up credit cards or loans, and ruins someone financially. The act is even worse when it happens to a child.
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State agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam pushed for a new law to help parents protect their children's identities.
"Up to 50,000 children in Florida alone have had this happen to them," said Putnam.
Starting this month, a mother and father can freeze their child's credit until they're old enough to start using it.
"Those that we've seen exploited the most are kids already in the system. People whose files are passed around frequently, kids in foster care, or other types of circumstances where a lot of people have access to their sensitive information," Putnam said.
Children are targeted because they have a clean credit report. A fraudster can open up credit cards in a child's name and it could take years before anyone notices.
Identity theft investigations start with local law enforcement.
"Can kids be victims," said Dave Northway, of the Tallahassee Police Department. "Kids can be because we're all assigned Social Security numbers when we're very young, so yes, kids can be."
The old law only allowed adults to put a freeze on their credit. It now costs parents $10 to do it for their kids.
Other tips to avoid children's identity theft include keeping important documents like birth certificates and Social Security cards in a safe place, and only give out a child's Social Security number when absolutely necessary.