Protect Your Kids From Identity Theft, Ohio Officials Say

COLUMBUS, OH — Con artists are stealing Ohio children's identity to fraudulently open accounts and receive unemployment benefits, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.

“A victim’s age doesn’t matter to identity thieves so parents need to utilize all the available tools to protect their children,” Yost said. “A freeze on your children’s credit report is free and can provide that security to lock out scammers.”

Yost said parents should proactively freeze their child's credit report. Law enforcement are investigating reports of scammers using children's identities to open cellphone accounts, utilities, credit cards and mortgages.

Ohio currently ranks No. 18 in the U.S. for fraud reports, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission. Approximately 14,000 victims of identity fraud were 19 or younger.

Children are prime targets for identity thieves because parents and kids rarely check a child's credit. Identity theft of children is usually only discovered when a student applies for college financial aid, a car loan or employment.

Parents can learn how to freeze their child's credit in the video below. A credit freeze is free to implement and will remain until it is lifted by parents or the child, when they are 16 or older.