LifeLock

Raising kids is hard. You do all you can to protect them and ensure their futures are bright: vaccinations, the best schools you can afford, sacrificing sleep to monitor their temperatures when they’re sick. And new threats and worries emerge as they grow and the world changes.

One of those new threats is child identity theft, and it’s a big one. Luckily, it’s an easy one to prevent, and protecting your child takes just a few minutes and costs less than a latte.

Here’s the scoop: Between 2005 and 2007 the Federal Trade Commission received 34,000 reports of child identity theft.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. Most child identity theft cases go undiscovered and unreported for years. In fact, they’re usually not discovered until the kid’s applying for student loans, jobs, car loans or a lease on an apartment. By that time, the child’s credit is shot, he or she may have an arrest record and will probably begin adulthood many thousands of dollars in debt.

If you think maybe it’s just another scare tactic to manipulate you into buying something you don’t need, google “child identity theft” and read some of the horror stories: kids millions of dollars in debt, and 5-year olds with arrest warrants for drunk driving and outstanding child support payments.

Adults have been taught to check their credit reports annually, but who thinks to check the credit report of a child who just started daycare or kindergarten? It’s easy enough for the teacher, daycare worker or babysitter to access information necessary to commit ID theft; name, address, Social Security number – it’s all easily within reach.

Here’s the easy, inexpensive solution: enroll your child in LifeLock’s ID theft prevention. For about $2 a month, your child’s protected. When you’re done googling, go to LifeLock.com. Use the LifeLock promotion code Defense for that less-than-a-latte price. Another parenting responsibility covered, cheap and easy.