20 years ago I worked as a bill collector. The company I worked for would buy out the accounts that the primary company felt they couldn’t collect on and have basically given up. So we’d buy your debt (at a steep discount) and then try to collect from you.
It disappointed me the number of parents I talked to who not only committed fraud on their own kids but legit did not care, zero remorse. Some of them would even laugh at me and say “well they’re only three so what are you going to do!?”.
I felt so bad for the kids. Those are the kids that are entering college and the workforce right now.
Please freeze your credit file at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It’s free and you can unfreeze it anytime you want (or whenever you judge its a valid credit check for something you actually requested yourself).
Whether you have a low/medium/good/perfect credit score and are satified with the credit cards and mortgage/loans you already have or lived without ever having a credit card and loans, it is of utmost importance to freeze your credit files to preempt any future identity theft from becoming a life upending disaster.
For the fellow Canadians reading this, freezing your credit file has been enshrined in law in Québec since February 2023. I have frozen mine on the first week of February. However, I am unaware of the availability of that option in other provinces, please check with your bank or provincial service bureau (equivalent to Services Québec here) or directly contact Equifax and TransUnion.
Given that you require 3 step authorization just to access your bank, there is no reason credit card companies should be giving out credit cards so easily in this day and age based on name alone. Heck setting up an account for a phone is more secure than credit cards and I think what these companies are doing is intentional so they can legally ruin people and absolve themselves of any unethical behaviour.
I suspect this was done to me. I found out my SS and name was used for various utilities related things back when I was a young child. When asked, my parents insisted some OTHER family members must have done it, and they never answered how the hell other family members got my SS when my parents are typically super secretive and protective of info like that.
I feel that this can be addressed at application step. Any date of birth proven to be under 18 cannot apply without an in person interview. This protects minors from taking on debt without fully understanding the implications, and puts responsibility on the lender for providing credit to a minor. If credit is provided and defaults the debt should be the lender’s problem for taking such a huge risk.
Alternatively, the same premise with the exception that an adult is required as a cosigner. If the account defaults the burden is shifted to the adult as they have the cognizance to understand and take responsibility.
I wouldn’t outright ban giving accounts to minors. My parents opened a savings account in my name and kept it in good standing. This gave me a big credit boost that my peers never had. But I realize I am an exception, and the problem others face is very real.
Companies don’t care. I had a collection agency call me before wanting paid for an unpaid Direct TV bill from when I was 13 that my dad had taken out in my name. I had to get him to read the part on Direct tv’s terms stating that no one under 18 can activate service 4 times before it finally registered to him and they dropped it. Still had to get it removed from my credit report too.
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