Freezing the credit report of your minor child – or of a protected adult for whom you have legal guardianship – can minimize chances of heartache and financial hardship. Freezing your child’s credit report means that no identity thief can open and use an account in your child’s name. It means no bank or lender will mistakenly open accounts under your child’s social security number. It means when your child turns 21 and is ready to apply for an account in their own name, they are starting from a fresh slate and not one that is possibly muddled by mistakes and fraud, requiring a year or more to clean up.
To freeze the report of a minor or protected adult, go to the same web pages as you did for freezing your own report and fill out a form specifically for minors and protected adults. You will not be able to submit the request online but will need to mail the completed form, along with copies of identifying documents for yourself and the minor or protected adult to the CRA’s address on the form.
Coming up in the next module, learn how to build or rebuild your credit, what a good credit score really means, and how to deal with information and activity negatively affecting your credit rating.
