identity theft

[thesmithfamily_5]

Does anyone know if a noncustodial dad (TX) has the right to check his child's credit? We believe that Mommy Dearest used his name to get electricity turned on..... if so, we'd like to press charges....

He brought it up a while back but we didn't realize what exactly that entailed.... He said his name was on the electric bill and when we all went out to dinner he picked up the check... his grandma jokingly said that now he had to pay for dinner and he said "I can't pay that, I've got to pay the electricity bill too!"

[Kent]

If you do not have shared legal custody, then you will have a hard time getting his credit information.

If she has sole legal, then using his SSN to turn on the electric is a miserable thing to do, but I am not sure if it is illegal.

You may want to post this on Soc's board.

Kent!

[thesmithfamily_5]

"If she has sole legal, then using his SSN to turn on the electric is a miserable thing to do, but I am not sure if it is illegal."

I believe that it is, I found this article through Google...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7045490
Main culprits in kids' ID theft? Family members
Relatives prey on children, tarnishing their credit histories
By Janet Shamlian
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 3:36 p.m. CT March 3, 2005

DALLAS - Shiloh Puckett is 10 years old, but this Dallas-area 4th grader already has quite a history.  A credit history, that is.  Shiloh has had 17 credit cards, racked up thousands of dollars on her American Express bill and been approved for a $42,000 loan.

She is deep in debt and has been since she was just five. How does a child like Puckett get those credit cards and spend all that money?  

Her record is deceiving, because she is not a young criminal.

Puckett's Social Security number was stolen several years ago. She is a young victim of identity theft, one of an estimated half a million children who joined her ranks last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

It is a crime, much like adult identity theft, which is spiraling out of control.

Theft from within the family
In Shiloh's case, police collected hundred of pieces of evidence including credit cards, unpaid bills and loan applications. Prosecutors filed charges and the thief was sent to jail for six months. The culprit was Shiloh's own mother, Cindy Puckett.

"I did it because I had to, as a means of necessity," said Cindy Puckett. "I feel bad I did it, and I shouldn't have done it. At the time, I didn't really think it was wrong in the sense I was hurting my child."

While Cindy Puckett served half a year in a Dallas jail, her daughter Shiloh was sent to live with a relative. They are reunited now, but the young girl's credit is still blemished.

"I hope it sends a message to other parents," said Cindy Puckett. "Don't do that, it's not worth it. Find other means."

Shiloh Puckett's case may seem unusual because of her mother's involvement, but it's not.  An advocacy group called the Identity Theft Resource Center identifies relatives as being involved in more than half of the child identity theft cases reported in the United States last year.  

[MixedBag]

if you now his social, get it on line.

I know one mom who did this to her son and thankfully the son got it cleared up in the end (when he applied for credit down the road).

[VeronicaGia]

Why not call the electric company and tell them about your suspicions?