1.7 million U.S. children had personal information exposed in data breaches in the past year, putting them at heightened risk for not only identity theft but also subsequent identity fraud. When a child’s identity is breached, it takes a toll on the entire family. And when identity fraud results, it costs the average household $1,128—$752 for the fraud itself and $376 out-of-pocket to resolve the fraud. What’s more, it takes families, on average, 16 hours to resolve child identity fraud—an astounding 7 hours longer than it takes to resolve adult identity fraud.

The study found that beyond suffering from identity fraud, more U.S. children were adversely affected in the past year by a data breach, with 1.7 million—1 in every 43—having personal information exposed and potentially compromised. Javelin finds a direct correlation between children’s use of social media and the increase in the number of children who are being exposed online. In fact, Javelin found that children under the age of 7 were most likely to be victimized by ID theft and subsequent ID fraud.

Javelin strives to provide resources and education to financial institutions, law enforcement, government agencies, and early educational institutions about steps they can and should take to inform consumers about the risks of child ID theft and fraud. This report offers actionable recommendations for consumers, financial institutions, insurance companies, and employers on how to help curb child identity fraud. 

This complimentary report analyzes U.S. consumer responses about child identity theft and fraud collected from 5,000 U.S. households earlier this year. This report was made possible by our sponsors and partners, AARP and Savvy Cyber Kids. AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. Savvy Cyber Kids is a non-profit organization that educates parents, guardians, educators and children about how children’s identities and development are adversely affected by unrestricted internet access and use.