1.25 million kids have their Social Security Numbers stolen — and 75% of the time, the thief is someone they know

Christy Bieber

Sat, July 4, 2026 at 4:00 AM PDT 5 min read

Imagine applying for your first real job in your 20s only to discover that you have a checkered past when it comes to your credit and employment. And it's not because you spent your teenage years job-hopping and overspending. Instead, it's because you were one of the 1.25 million or so U.S. children (1) affected by identity theft.

Unfortunately, as the Identity Theft Resource Center (2) explains, children are "prime targets" for identity theft because of their clean credit history and because parents often don't check their credit regularly.

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Sadly, this can have dire consequences, especially as the identity theft is often not discovered until decades later. And a growing number of young adults will face this issue, as child identity theft increased by around 40% (2) from 2021 to 2024. All those children who are victimized will have to cope with the aftermath as the crime is discovered.

Let's pretend, for example, that Daniel's Social Security number was stolen when he was eight. It was used to obtain employment and also to open a few credit cards. It took Daniel 14 years to discover this, so what can he do now that he's entering adulthood and has a work record and credit history that isn't his own but that's tied to his Social Security number?

Taking action after discovering childhood identity theft

Unfortunately, identity theft committed against Daniel during his childhood can become a very real problem for him as an adult. In fact, Daniel may struggle to get a job or a credit card because of a low credit score and inaccurate information appearing on background checks.

"Your Social Security number may have been stolen when you were eight years old, but the consequences can follow you into your 20s, 30s, and beyond," Michael Scheumack (3), chief innovation officer at IdentityIQ told Moneywise.

Scheumack recommended:

• Immediately getting your credit report from all three credit bureaus (which you can do for free at AnnualCreditReport.com (4)) to see where you stand

• Putting a fraud alert on your credit report and freezing your credit so criminals can't keep using your info

• Contacting companies where you have open accounts, employment records, or past-due bills to alert them to the fraud and enlist their help in removing these inaccuracies from your record

• Filing an Identity Theft Report (5) with the FTC.