Credit freeze for children?

[babydoc]

With the recent equifax data breech, I finally pulled the trigger and froze my credit as well as my wife's. I figure that I rather deal with the hassle of "thawing" my credit if needed rather than cleaning up any mess.

Has anyone gone to the length of also freezing their child's credit?  Mr. Google states that kids are more likely to become victims than adults.  I was curious of others thoughts.  Should I just put my tinfoil hat away?

[jfoxcpacfp]

babydoc wrote:

With the recent equifax data breech, I finally pulled the trigger and froze my credit as well as my wife’s. I figure that I rather deal with the hassle of “thawing” my credit if needed rather than cleaning up any mess.

Has anyone gone to the length of also freezing their child’s credit?  Mr. Google states that kids are more likely to become victims than adults.  I was curious of others thoughts.  Should I just put my tinfoil hat away?

Click to expand...

Timely question. You should keep your tinfoil hat firmly in place and read my most recent blog post, Your Child's Most Important Asset.

[babydoc]

Awesome! Thank you for the link/advice. I'm sorry that I missed it. I'm a little behind from my last several weeks of working nights! Thank you as well for all your great advice over the years.

[gap55u]

I just sent credit freeze letters out for my 3 kids.  Transunion was pretty ridiculous so I haven't completed it yet:

Required Documentation:

• A written request to place a “protected consumer freeze” on the named individual’s file AND

• One of the following qualifying documents indicating that the requestor has Proof of Authority of the named individual:

- Court Order

- Power of Attorney (not applicable for NY, TX or UT residents)

- Written, Notarized and Signed Description of Authority (not applicable for VA residents);

- Written communication from a county welfare or probation department certifying that the protected consumer is a foster youth under its jurisdiction (applicable for CA residents); AND

So - I need to pay a lawyer for a power of attorney to freeze credit of my child?

They give no indication of what a description of authority is (could that be as simple as "I am Dr John Doe and Jane Doe is my daughter", which is then notarized?)

 

[jfoxcpacfp]

You, the parent, have the power to transact all the same business allowed under a durable POA. A minor cannot grant a POA but you can grant a POA to another person for your minor child. You should be able to simply write a statement to that effect. Otherwise, I would go for option 3.

[EJ at Dads Dollars and Debts]

Yeah it seemed like a pain to freeze my sons credit. Per Equinox, the suspect he has NOT been affected...talk about bad writing.

[Craigy]

gap55u wrote:

I just sent credit freeze letters out for my 3 kids.  Transunion was pretty ridiculous so I haven’t completed it yet:

Required Documentation:

• A written request to place a “protected consumer freeze” on the named individual’s file AND

• One of the following qualifying documents indicating that the requestor has Proof of Authority of the named individual:

– Court Order

– Power of Attorney (not applicable for NY, TX or UT residents)

– Written, Notarized and Signed Description of Authority (not applicable for VA residents);

– Written communication from a county welfare or probation department certifying that the protected consumer is a foster youth under its jurisdiction (applicable for CA residents); AND

So – I need to pay a lawyer for a power of attorney to freeze credit of my child?

They give no indication of what a description of authority is (could that be as simple as “I am Dr John Doe and Jane Doe is my daughter”, which is then notarized?)

 

Click to expand...

Like Johanna said above, you're going to have parental authority here.  Depending on the state, if you're divorced, it's might be called something else, depending on if you have custody of the child.  Usually the lingo is parent, custodian, guardian, domiciliary.  In Louisiana a divorced parent with custody would be a tutor or a tutrix.  It would likely be a statement as simple as that.  Before you go to the effort, I would call and find out exactly what they want so you can avoid jumping through the same hoops twice.

IMO it's fairly reasonable for them to ask for something like this.  I wouldn't want someone transacting my affairs just on the promise that he or she is  my parent.  But it would seem like a birth certificate would be better, easier proof.  

 

As for risk of kids in the breach in general, it's my understanding that Equifax had to be tracking you in order for your data to have been leaked.  Therefore, presumably if your child does not have a credit score or credit history, his information should not have been leaked.  Usually the risk of a child's identity being stolen comes in the form of a parent or relative using a child's fresh credit history to apply for new credit.