Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnChristy BieberSat, July 4, 2026 at 1:00 PM GMT+2 5 min readseventyfourimages/EnvatoImagine 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.Must ReadJeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being oneDave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake —