One scam going around now is bad guys using unsuspecting kids’ Social Security Numbers to borrow money and then not pay it back.
The parents of the kids don’t know about it…until it’s time to go to college. And then your child has credit that’s wrecked and nowhere to turn.
Don’t let this happen to you (or anyone you know).
You should be ordering a credit report on every member of your family each year.
Fortunately, the US Government has made it easy (I had a hard time typing that sentence).
They created a website called AnnualCreditReport.com that lets you get your credit report from each of the 3 reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.
You get it free. Don’t fall for anything asking you to subscribe. Keep this just as a report.
Now you may see the web address ends in .com instead of the .gov you normally see on government websites. I promise it’s OK.
If it makes you feel better, here is a link to an article on the CFPB.gov website that also takes you to it: How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?
Just so you know, these free credit reports WILL NOT include your credit score. It will simply list every debt you have along with the balance, monthly payment, and payment history.
Even your debts you’ve paid off in the last 5-7 years will be on there.
Make sure to give yourself some time to get them all. What do I mean?
For each person, there will be up to 3 reports. You have to go to the first reporting agency on AnnualCreditReport.com, enter your info, and download the report. Then you go back to the beginning, go to the second agency, enter your info, and download the report. Finally, you go back to the beginning, go to the third agency, enter your info, and download the report.
You just finished person #1.
Now do person #2 and so on.
I started by talking about bad actors stealing kids’ Social Security Numbers (SSN) and using them to take out loans.
When you run your child’s SSN through the website and you get a message saying nothing is on file, that’s a great thing. It simply means that no one has reported a debt on your child’s SSN.
Still go through all 3 agencies on each of your children’s Social Security Numbers.
Because here is the thing…not every debt is reported to every agency. Each report you get may look a little different. Not good, not bad, just different.
Once you’ve done all this work, go through each credit report to make sure there are no errors.
You want to make sure you do owe what is being reported.
And you may find something interesting. If you are an authorized user on a credit card that belongs to someone outside your immediate family, you will see it show up on your credit report.
Again…not good, not bad.
Just know that the account with you as an authorized user will show when you go to borrow money. But it’s easy to show that you aren’t responsible for the debt so it can be left off.
So budget some time to get all your family’s free credit reports this week. And then set an alarm to do this annually a year later.
Here’s hoping you find nothing out of the ordinary…
Be Safe, Have Fun,
Darren Bayne
