Some parents are getting a rude awakening when it comes to identity theft: Crooks are targeting young children and setting up fraudulent accounts with the child's name and Social Security number.

Make sure your young child does not have a credit history. Visit annualcreditreport.com and order a free credit report in your child's name. You can breathe a sign of relief if your child does not have a credit report. But if there is illicit activity on a credit report and it's not discovered for several years, the damage that builds over time can ruin the child's credit before he gets out of high school, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, San Diego, Calif.

Published July 30, 2008

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