LSEG leads child identity theft campaign

When Renata Galvão was just six years old, her identity was stolen and used to amass a US$400,000 debt. After years of battling the damages inflicted on her financial history and credit score, the LSEG Risk Intelligence employee is campaigning for measures against child identity theft.

To help her cause, the London-headquartered financial markets data and analytics provider has released a new report, outlining measures that financial institutions can implement to prevent stories such as Galvão’s. This includes introducing identity and age verification for account opening, including biometric-based verification.

Child identity theft involves using a minor’s personal information, such as name, birth date, social security number, or national personal identification number, to fraudulently obtain credit, loans, government benefits, or sign up for services.

“Children are being targeted because they know our systems weren’t designed to spot them. This has to change, says David White, LSEG Risk Intelligence global head of Product & Data.

LSEG’s child identity theft awareness campaign will also include the release of a documentary based on Renata Galvão’s life called One in Fifty.

“If we can protect children from physical harm, we should be able to protect them from financial abuse too,” says Galvão. “I’m choosing to speak up now, so no one else has to go through what I did.”

The report cites statistics from sources such as financial services research company Javelin, which released a study showing that 1.25 million children in the U.S. –  one in fifty – fell victim to identity theft and fraud between July 2021 and July 2022.  Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of victims personally know their perpetrators.

Figures from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirm the trend, showing that child identity theft surged by 40 percent between 2021 and 2024. The average age a child becomes a victim is eight years old.

LSEG Risk Intelligence says that the trend is likely to grow with the rise of online fraud and the new threat of deepfakes. Since March 2024, the number of identities connected to identity fraud in the LSEG World Check database has grown by 13 percent. The database also showed a 43 percent rise in the number of entities used as vehicles to commit ID fraud.

Other recommendations listed in the report are third-party verification, or cross-checking customers through independent sources and introducing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for customers with no credit history. Financial institutions can also introduce multi-layered authentication to enhance security, transaction monitoring and parental controls.

Article Topics

children  |  digital identity  |  fraud prevention  |  identity theft  |  LSEG Risk Intelligence