Child identity fraud is often committed by someone close to the family—like a relative or longtime family friend. This type of crime goes by a few names: familial identity theft, familiar identity theft, and family identity theft. Though the terminology may differ, the theft always stings extra due to the betrayal. The silver lining? Because these thieves target close to home for convenience, their actions can often be prevented with simple precautions.
Family identity theft, also known as familial or familiar theft, occurs when someone you know—such as a relative or family friend—misuses your personal information or that of your dependents for their own benefit.
Sometimes, it might seem harmless, like a big sister creating a “burner” email using her younger sibling’s information to score a 10 percent discount reserved for first-time customers.
But even this seemingly minor act can have harmful consequences. By exposing the child’s personal details online and tying them to a fake profile, their otherwise clean digital footprint is compromised, potentially making them a target for identity thieves and data brokers.
Unfortunately, getting your information hijacked by someone you know tends to be more nefarious than the shopaholic big sister example. In fact, Javelin Strategy & Research reported that child identity theft adds up to at least one billion stolen dollars annually and affects one in fifty kids.
The perpetrators? Javelin says at least seventy percent of the thieves know their junior victims and their families.
How family identity theft happens
Family identity thieves steal personal information for the same reasons that regular identity thieves do, such as:
Financial gains, such as opening lines of credit or buying things in your name
Medical coverage, such as receiving medical assistance, procedures, and medicine under your name
Insurance fraud, such as getting car or health insurance coverage or payments
Collecting benefits
Your personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, parents' names, and address, could be used together to carry out fraud.
Or bits and pieces of information from various family members might be combined to create a synthetic identity—a patchwork profile stitched together from real details belonging to multiple individuals. This fabricated persona could then be used to buy a car on credit, apply for a cash advance, or other fraudulent actions.
How to know if you’re a victim of family identity theft
Like identity theft committed by a stranger, there are tell-tale signs your information has been breached by someone you know:
Businesses send you statements for accounts you never opened
Companies deny you credit or a loan due to outstanding debt you didn’t rack up or a low credit rating you didn’t earn
Items you never ordered get delivered to your home
You get locked out of accounts (social media, streaming services, etc.)
Bills arrive in your name for services and goods you never received
Spam financial offers (like credit cards) begin to flood your mailboxes and phone lines
The amount of junk mail in your inbox and mailboxes increases
How to avoid family theft
Family identity thieves tend to go for low-hanging fruit. They pilfer the information of loved ones because they have easy access to it.
To thwart their efforts, follow these tips:
Keep your information private. Don’t write down passwords and other sensitive information. Use a password manager to safeguard your accounts.
Keep important documents in a safe place, like a lock box at home or in a bank. This goes for birth certificates, Social Security cards, and passports.
Set your devices to lock when you’re not using them. Don’t share the PIN with anyone.
Put an ongoing credit freeze on your name at the various credit report bureaus (even do so for children). When you are ready to apply for credit, unfreeze it, then freeze it again once you’re done.
Enact a fraud monitoring alert in your name. Do it with one of the three credit agencies—Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax—and it goes into effect for all of them.
Implement multi-factor authentication on your accounts. When you must respond over email or by phone to get into an account, you make hacking more difficult for them and getting alerts easier for you.
Open your mail frequently. Look at your statements. Keep tabs on your credit report. Monitor the amount of money in your accounts and the activity.
Don’t share your physical debit or credit cards with others. The same goes for cash apps.
Pro tip: Don’t journal
Password journals—where you jot down all your accounts, passwords, PINs, security questions, and more—might seem like a smart idea. After all, a paper-based password manager is straightforward and feels secure from cybercriminals, right?
Not always. Much like a nosy sibling sneaking into your diary, leaving sensitive information out in the open—even at home—can come with serious risks.
What to do if you discover family theft
If you're an Allstate Identity Protection member, you can enlist the help of our specialists to shepherd you through the identity recovery process step by step.
In any case, we recommend reporting the fraud and disputing your losses. Report identity theft crimes to the Federal Trade Commission and your local law enforcement. Contact the credit companies or businesses affected by the breach and explain to them what occurred.
Family identity theft is a tough pill to swallow, but by taking preventative measures and staying vigilant, you can protect yourself and your loved ones. Knowledge is your first line of defense.