More than 34,000 cases of identity theft reported to the Federal Trade Commission from 2005 to 2007 concerns children younger than 18. The poaching of children’s identities is more common than parents realize. Children as young as 3 years old have their Social Security number linked to driver’s licenses, credit cards, arrest warrants for drunken driving and warrants for unpaid child support.

It is unknown how deep this problem goes. One reason why it is unknown exactly how many children are affected is that the crime often goes unnoticed for years. In most identity thefts, there’s a narrow time gap between the discovery and the theft.

A second major reason is that frequently the thief is a relative of the child. 50 percent of all child ID theft involves a perpetrator who is one of the parents or someone who is close to the family.

If your child is a victim of identity theft you should contact the credit reporting agencies directly and report the illegal use of your child’s information to law enforcement. Credit reporting agencies do not knowingly maintain credit files on minor children. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. The addresses for the credit reporting agencies are listed below:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

For more identity theft information and steps you can take to protect your child’s identity, go to Federal Trade Commission, ID Theft. This website also contains government reports and Congressional testimony, law enforcement updates, and links to other sites with helpful information about identity theft.