Odd Question

The correct website for free credit reports from all three agencies is https://www.annualcreditreport.com

Do wait a couple of months (as suggested by the other person) so that possible marks on her credit can be seen.

Get her a credit report, if there has been any activity on her social it should show up. If he did use it I would contact the police right away to find out what to do next.

freecreditreport.com

Also, it might be worth a non-emergency call to the police to ask about more ways to protect her and her credit.

Checking with the credit reporting agencies is an excellent idea as well as checking with utilitiecompanies. I doubt that he could actually get a new house with her social security number because there is no credit history connected with her number or her name.

Another possibility would be that he has not only opened accounts for utilities but has also obtained credit at places that do not do credit checks. They ask for a social security number to be used if needed but don't actually do anything with the number. The difficulty will come when he defaults on the credit and the company reports that to the credit reporting agencies.

I would call the Postal Inspectors' office rather than putting in a change of address because your change of address request will not be confidential. Your ex could find out about the change of address. The postal inspector can quietly find out if mail is being sent in her name to your ex's address. Because using someone else's ss number is a violation of Federal Law the Postal Inspector can initiate a criminal report. I don't know if they would tell you what mail is being sent, if any, but they would be able to help you rectify the damage.

I learned that my adopted daughter's birth mother still had her original birth certificate and had used it to get state aid in Washington. I called Washington State Aid to Families and Children, Fraud Division, and reported this possibility. They checked. I don't remember if the state told me she had used the birth certificate but her birth mother told another daughter that she was angry because her benefits were cut off.

When my daughter was in high school, she applied for a checking account and learned that because her birth mother had used her social security number to obtain utilites which she did not pay, they would not open a checking account for her. It is my remembrance that the bank helped my daughter to clear that up with the credit reporting agency. My daughter has been able to obtain credit as an adult without any difficulty. The default is no longer on her record.

Unfortunately using another person's identity happens frequently. I do think you need to find out if your ex has fraudulently used your daughter's ss #. It's also important to call the credit reporting agencies to see if they can open a file in your daughter's name which will show her age and the unlikelihood that she is doing business. I think that they may also be able to note on the file that fraud is a possibility.

It could be possible that he is buying life insurance but your description makes it unlikely. I might ask him for the insurance information for your files. Or perhaps just ask him for the company name first. If he's not buying insurance, he may be unable to quickly give you a name.

Another possibility for getting a new house is that he is living with someone who purchased the house. I'd still check on his possible use of your daughter's ss # for obtaining utilities or opening credit accounts. His situation sounds "fishy" to me.

An idea for the future and for other mother's. When you don't feel comfortable giving out personal information you can tell your ex or whoever that you want the insurance company or ? to call you directly. Then be sure that you are actually talking to an official person.

And to possibly relieve your mind. I think that your ex could obtain your daughter's ss # from the Social Securiy Office if his name is on the birth certificate.

Which gives me another idea. You could call the Social Security Office and ask their advice.

VERY easily. Check her credit report. Go to: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

And if you see ANYTHING on there, do not make contact with him. You need to contact the police and file a report. Then, you need to get a copy of that report and mail it to the three credit reporting agencies AND to any creditors who are listed on the report.

If you don't see anything on there, you should plan to check again in 12 months. Chances are pretty good that if he used her SSN, he used it to turn on the cable, phone, utilities, etc. This wouldn't show up on her credit report unless or until he didn't pay the bill and the bill went into collections. (If you know the names of these companies, you could possibly call them to ask if any services were connected under your daughter's name.) I also might be tempted to put in a change of address form on behalf of your daughter. Forward her mail from HIS home to yours. If he's turned anything on in her name, the bills will also be in her name. It could be a criminal act for him to be receiving and opening your daughter's mail.

Do not buy the credit monitoring service. It's generally a complete waste of money.

(And for the rest of you Mamas - you should darn sure be checking your children's credit reports once per year. This is free and easy. And identity theft on children is skyrocketing like you wouldn't believe. Too often, the crime isn't discovered until the child turns 18 and begins to try to establish credit.)

Dear N.,
Immediately contact one of the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Transuion, or Experian. You can Google them to find their phone numbers. If you feel that your daughters SSN might have been used fraudulently, they will send you a copy of her credit report free of charge. It is important to check it ASAP, because if it has been used unlawfully, you need to know about it NOW. I had my identity stolen eight years ago, and it has been a TOTAL nightmare for me. Good luck and please call one of the credit bureaus today. You'll feel good knowing one way or the other if he used her SSN. Good luck. Be proactive about this.
Sincerely,
J.

Good question. In addition to checking her credit history through one of the credit reporting agencies, you could consider pkacing a credit freeze on her. That means that if someone tries to get credit in her name they wouldn't be able to unless they know a password that you create. You can get info about credit reports and freezes at the Attorney General's website: http://atg.wa.gov/SafeguardingConsumers.aspx

I had my identity stolen, also. Make sure that if you go to a site like freecreditreport.com that you understand their guidelines. I had originally looked into that. However, in order to get a free copy of my credit report, I had to sign up for a yearly service. So, I contacted Equifax. They sent me a free copy. In addition (because I was concerned of identity theft), Equifax contacted the other two credit companies for me, and they also sent me a free copy. This is from their site:

"Fraud using your Social Security number
If your Social Security number has been used to commit identity theft, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is charged with handling most identity theft complaints at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338). You can order a copy of your earnings and benefits statement to check whether someone has used your Social Security number to get a job or to avoid paying taxes."

Also, you can put a fraud alert on your daughter's account. (The sight explains what this is). Also, if something is found on the report, you can put a freeze on the account. (also explained on the site).

It can take up to 6 months for any activity to show up on the report. So, don't assume because nothing shows up that you are in the clear. Recheck it in a few months.
Good luck!

Hi N.,
When you are checking with the credit bureaus, you should also be able to put a "flag" on her social security number, so that if anyone tries to use it to obtain credit, they will have to call the phone number on the account. You can tell them you suspect her number has been used fraudulently. I went through this when I had an ID theft.
Also it sounds like your ex-h. has a lot of problems. If he's cleaning up his credit, he might be going through credit counseling which gives him the opportunity to do things like moving into a house.
best wishes.

Marda made a good suggestion about asking that the insurance people call you directly when there is a request for your daughter's ssn and I would take it a step further perhaps. If someone calls you requesting your daughter's ssn, you can't be 100% sure it's someone offical...it could be someone trying to scam you. You might want to ask that you call the company directly, as you may be able to verify the identity of the person or agency making the request.

Hope this makes sense, good luck!

FREECREDITREPORT.COM has a child secure section where I believe you can check your child's credit report. Do it! My son's dad used his ss# for years without my knowledge...he is 16 now and we have had quite the time trying to get it fixed! Best of luck, dear!

You won't need to worry about her credit until she is an adult. My daughters egg donor stoll her identity and racked up some bills in her name that we found out about a few years back... we were not able to check her credit because she is a minor, but we were assured that it would never affect her as an adult because Children can not build credit.
However, if you want to check into it being used (it's not an actual credit check like you or I would have), you can write a credit company (any of them) and explain the circumstances and they, under high security, can help you. However, everything has to be done in writing as they will not run anyone under 18 otherwise.

RED FLAG! if he isn't paying child support, why does he want to put her as a beneficiary on his life insurance?

You can run a check on her social security number with any of the three major credit reporting companies:

http://transunion.com
www.experian.com
www.Equifax.com

If there is anything on there that shouldn't be you file a dispute with them to have it removed.

Good luck.

go to myficoscore.com and request a free credit report on your daughter's social. not only will it tell you what her credit institutions are, if there are any, but it will tell you who has checked her credit to solicit her for something. if she has something on there, contact the various institutions and let them know of the fraud. they'll tell you where to go from there. you may have to file a police report as well. (i had my debtcard # stollen and i had to file in the city i live in. so they can charge the loser if they are able to find them!)

good luck and i'll keep a positive thought that he didn't do anything!

As a bank manager, I would encourage you to protect your information and the information for your child. I just read on the msn homepage the other day about the increase in identity theft in children. People are using ssn's for employment, rentals, credit, cell phones etc. Congress passed a law to allow the consumer access to 1 free credit report annually to help stop credit fraud and identity theft. I encourage you to go to your bank and ask for the contact information.

Your ex husband may very well have asked for the number for valid reasons, but one never knows. Also make sure that he isn't using the ssn to claim her on his taxes as a dependent unless you have made provisions for that in your divorce paperwork. Good luck. B.

N., if you are afraid that he took out a loan with your daughter's name on it, you can call the customer service department of any title company (First American, Ticor, etc.) or go to the county recorder's office of the county that the house is in and ask them for a copy of the mortgage (probably a trust deed) on your ex's house. That information is a public record. It should cost you little or nothing to get. You will need the street address of the house. Good luck.

That's not an odd question- you are one smart cookie. What a lucky little girl ( a loving, savvy Mom- a great step-dad) -- Wonderful.

Your question likely has a clear answer. I'd check with DSHS - look up in the phone book- and ask for information from them- it will take a long time- and likely someone in this amazing group has an much easier route-.

Blessings,
J.

You need to cotact all three credit report agency's and let them know you need to check your childs credit to ensure it has not been used in identity theft. They will advise you how to proceed. Good luck to you and your daughter! I hope it is safe.

Get a credit check done on her credit your her mom and apparenty you have physical custody. Make sure to get the FICO score as well and ask him to show you the paperwork for the life insurance. Karen K is wrong I know of several parents who have ruined their kids credit before they were adults.

I reccomend getting Suze Ormond's Identity Theft Kit to monitor your's and your daughter's credit. You fill out the information and if anything happens in the future it will notify you. Make sure you put a freeze on your daughter's credit with the three credit bureaus even if he didn't do what you suspect he or anyone else still could in the future. He might have used her social to open bank accounts so he could hide is money and keep not having to pay you child support. Check utilities too.

That isn't an odd question I was asked the same question and because I thought the same thing you did and didn't give him our sons SSN and told him don't ask me again. Turns out he was trying to buy a home and he was going to use our sons SSN to do it with. I BE D**** if he messes up my sons credit. So just keep an eye on your babies info and the first time you see some purhases that you know your child didn't make contact the IRS and let them know.

You can do a credit check on your daughter, no problem at all.

have you tried doing a credit check on their names and social security numbers. That is the only thing that I can think of.

You can check her credit at FreeCreditReport.com. If she's too young go to your bank and have them check. Everyone is allowed a free credit report every year. Protect your child. If he has used her SS#, contact a lawyer.

I have a friend who is raising her grand-daughter. The girl's mother used her SSN to buy a car several years ago and then defaulted, surprise! Anyway, when my friend found out, she froze her grand-daughter's SSN until she's 18. I'm not sure how she did it, but you could probably find out through a quick Google search. Good luck to you and kudos for looking out for your daughter's future.

You've had lots of good advice...so I won't repeat any of it.

One other thing that you should know of, is that you have the right to petition to change your daughters SSN. It's not something that is often done, or granted, but they haven't tattooed these numbers on us yet...so they CAN be changed. You'd have to show VERY good cause, but it is sometimes possible.

First of all you DO need to worry about her credit kids credit can go bad for reason similar to this so I would definately check it if you are worried. You can pull up a report from one of the three or all three Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. You would be surprised by the amount of kids that get bad credit way before then turn 18 and then have to deal with it. It is worth the $40ish dollars now to check and be safe then the thousands it will cost her when she gets older. Just my opinion!

N.,
You need to order credit reports on your daughter. There are three agencies that issue credit reports. Search the internet for free credit report and you should find what you need...
This report will tell you if anyone has used your DD's SSN to obtain credit.
Take care,
T.

www.Annualcreditreoprt.com will let you look up your duahgter's credit report for free. I would do it if you seem suspicious about this. If you find anything, you can contact the police about a possible Identity Theft.
Good Luck

That would be such a horrible shame if that is indeed what he did. I recently have had several calls from Discover credit card company asking to speak to my 11 year old son regarding his account, when I ask them why they are calling my son they tell me its a business matter, when I say he is only 11 years old and what kind of business could they possibly have with my young son they typically hang up. I called Discover and they checked and assured me there is no card with his social at this time, and they felt it was a scam, there is so much identity theft. I started to worry about this because when we applied for his social we received 10 copies of his card along with another persons card. At the time I didn't think to much about it and simply mailed the one that didn't belong to us to the address on the card with a note explaining it was attached with my sons card. When these calls came in it made me think about that and I was worried that perhaps someone had a copy of my sons card, I called the Social Security office and they took a report, they also suggested I contact my local police and file a report, just in case someone did obtain it and for my son's future he would need such a report filed. Also they gave me the addresses of the 3 main credit companies and told me to send a letter explaining what had happened and request that I be notified if anyone applied for credit using his name and social, and also I was able to put a ban on any cards being issued. I know this situation is different than what you are going through but I would suggest starting with calling the Social Security Administration and explain your concerns and they can guide you in the right direction. Good luck to you.

You can probably do a credit report check on it - one of the free ones that you can get each year.

You can run a credit check on her as her guardian.

I'm not a professional, but have been working in the industry for several years. My husband is a real estate investor and used to be a loan officer...

So you can check her credit, which would be a soft pull.

Though, you will want to wait about 2 months after he bought the place as it will not show on the credit report right away.

Trust your gut and go get it checked.
There should be a local credit reporting agency or bureau that you can walk into and check. If you do find foul play than you can actually get a new social security number issued to your daughter if the need arises.
You're ex came in with a good intention question but if you suspect foul play than as your childs mom you need to protect her.

Try CreditReport.com. Everyone should be able to get a free credit report every year. If he purchased a house, or anything else, using her #, it will show up on the credit reports.

Perhaps you can run a credit report check on her just like you would an adult. I haven't tried it before myself but not sure how else you would check on it. Your bank may be able to help too. More and more people are using kids' ssn to get credit.

You should be able to check her credit score with her name and social security number online at freecreditreport.com. You can see there if there are any loans against her name and number.

If I were you I would call SS and ask them what you can do to ensure that her number isn't being used for fraud. Hope everything comes out alright! Good Luck,
K.

You can check with the different credit bureaus. You should be allowed one free report per year from each agency. I would get on this sooner than later. The last thing you want your daughter saddled with is a bad credit rating at the tender age of five! Good luck!

B. W

I think you can check with the 3 credit agencies. They can help

N.,
Sounds funny to me, do you have a lawyer? Check this out fast! I worry for your daughter.
Prayers
R.

N.
If it is out of the norm for him it is worth checking.
Ask Him for the name of the ins co and a copy of the policy.
Find out who sold the house to him and find out the lender's name, than go talk to them and let them know what might be going on. They can check it out with out devulging his info and at this time they do not want to be scammed. It would be a good time to have the court take a look at his income and why he is not paying you the support he owes you insted of buying a house. Lots of red flags on this one. Protect you and your children be proactive, check it out.

Can't you just go online and check on one of the free credit report sites?

You can do a free credit check online with any of the credit burea's as long as you have address, SSN and full name of person. I did it for my husband when I was filing for divorce and wanted to seperate our finances. You have every reason to be concerned. Hope all works out for you. M.

You could try doing one of those online credit reports for your daughter...that's scary that her own dad might be using her credit