# Do you have a kid with a SSN? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761 "2015-02-03T21:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/1 "2015-02-03T21:02:28Z")
Then check his/her credit on annualcreditreports\*. Scamsters are using the SSN’s of minors now. > **[Spike in Fake ID Schemes Confounds Banks' Fraud Filters](https://www.americanbanker.com/bank-technology/spike-in-fake-id-schemes-confounds-banks-fraud-filters-1072377-1.html)** > > Fake identity fraud is growing, due to the plentiful array of consumer account and card data available in the wake of massive data breaches. It's a crime banks find almost impossible to detect and deter. Oh, and check yours, too. Most reports have errors. _not_ free\*creditreports. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/2 "2015-02-03T22:36:52Z")
What’s a kid doing with a nuclear submarine? But, more seriously, I got my SSN when I was twelve – umpty decades ago – because it helped my parents fill out their taxes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/3 "2015-02-03T22:41:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > What’s a kid doing with a nuclear submarine? > > But, more seriously, I got my SSN when I was twelve – umpty decades ago – because it helped my parents fill out their taxes. True, and almost every kid in America over the age of 1 has a SocSec Number. Still, you need to check. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/4 "2015-02-04T00:57:31Z")
Just wait until you find out they’re registered to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/5 "2015-02-04T21:27:42Z")
Yea, I was pretty sure the nurse would physically accost me if I tried to leave the hospital without filling out the SSN form. There can’t be that many kids out there _without_ one. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/6 "2015-02-05T05:10:01Z")
What kid needs a nuclear powered attack submarine? I got my SSN when I opened a new bank account to deposit my Bar Mitzvah money. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/7 "2015-02-09T00:27:54Z")
I wonder how many of those scammers using the SSNs of minors are their parents. Everyone should have the option to change their SSN in their adult life to protect themselves from parents who might commit identity theft. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/8 "2015-02-09T00:31:52Z")
> [@lel](#): > > I wonder how many of those scammers using the SSNs of minors are their parents. Everyone should have the option to change their SSN in their adult life to protect themselves from parents who might commit identity theft. Everyone [does](https://faq.ssa.gov/link/portal/34011/34019/Article/3789/Can-I-change-my-Social-Security-number). ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/9 "2015-02-09T02:08:44Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Everyone [does](https://faq.ssa.gov/link/portal/34011/34019/Article/3789/Can-I-change-my-Social-Security-number). A minor victim of identity theft would then have to press charges against their own parents to establish that they are a victim of identity theft and when it’s family, there’s sometimes a reluctance to take said steps. I was thinking more of a one time shot that didn’t require very specific and established reasons for the change. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-kid-with-a-ssn/711761/10 "2015-02-09T02:46:50Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Just wait until you find out they’re registered to vote. Or get called for jury duty.