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Beware of Class-Action Lawsuits Offering Rewards, Especially Baby Products
Posted on Jan 31, 2007 by Michelle Pastor
If you get information of a class-action lawsuit against a baby product manufacturer, beware!! It may be a scam designed to find out your child’s vital information including social security number and name – all the information an identity thief needs to hijack your little ones’ identity.
According to the Snopes web site, in 1997 scammers tricked parents into believing that a non-existent class-action lawsuit had been filed against Gerber and that Gerber was ordered to give $500 savings bond to parents on behalf of their child. Parents were instructed to mail copies of their child's birth certificate and social security card to a Post Office Box.
Although this scam started in 1997 and has been dormant for a while, it’s creative and believable and I can see it cropping up again in another form to unsuspecting parents. If you were one of the parents that sent the information, go to www.annualcreditreport.com and follow the instructions to check your child’s credit file to find out if he has been an identity theft victim. More information about children and identity theft is available on my blog posting.
I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating. Never disclose your child’s social security number unless you’re positive it’s legit. A child’s social security number is much more valuable to an identity thief than an adults’. A thief can use the child’s identity for years before anyone is likely to discover the theft, whereas an adult will usually realize much sooner.
Filed under: Credit, Fraud, Identity Theft, Scams
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