A recent study made by Javelin Strategy & Research says that the annual loss incurred through Child Identity Theft and Fraud in United States is $1 billion worth. Authored by Tracy Kitten, the report states that those children who are using Twitch, Twitter and Facebook are most likely being hit by a cyber attack, exposing their personal data through a data breach.
The 2021 Child Identity Fraud report clearly states that all those children above 10 are found using online services these days and from them over 1.25 million children became victims to identity thefts and frauds in the year 2020 alone.
Interestingly, out of the said number of victims, over 70% of them know their perpetrators and are as young as 9.
The situation can worsen any time, as most of the households are having internet access where children are left unattended when online, leaving them vulnerable to some of the nasty cyber crimes.
Also, because of over enthusiasm of parents, children’s info is often shared online such as the social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. And this practice is giving online hackers a chance to figure out potential victims of their choice.
Tracy, who is the Director of Fraud & Security at Javelin Strategy & Research, is urging parents not to share any personal data online and to monitor what their children are doing on social media and messaging platforms.
Parents are being encouraged to have conversations with their kids over topics such as cyber bullying and are advised to report to the law enforcement, if any.
