Adults may worry about having their financial data stolen, but an increasing threat is their children.

The Federal Trade Commission said: "A child's Social Security number can be used by identity thieves to apply for government benefits, open bank and credit card accounts, apply for a loan or utility service, or rent a place to live."

ID Analytics reports that more than half a million identities of kids were stolen in the U.S.

As it is very difficult to solve these crimes, identity theft is the fastest growing issue for Americans.

Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of The Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that offers free assistance to victims of fraud, said: "There is no panacea, unfortunately. But thieves tend to go for the low hanging fruit, so you can try to take simple steps that will minimize your risk."

Legislation was recently introduced to deal with the increasing incidents of children's identity being hacked. The new law would help parents lock down their childs identity. It would create a protected, frozen credit file for their children to keep their identities safe.

Source: HNGN