Children are 35 times more likely to have their identities stolen than adults. Author: Angela An Updated: 5:17 PM EST December 23, 2020 Most of us know about identity theft, but chances are you haven’t heard of synthetic identity theft. “In all reality, it's very hard to detect,” says Kip Morse, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio. He explained to CrimeTracker 10 step by step: Scammers steal a Social Security number often belonging to a minor or someone with no credit history The number is then attached to a fake name, birthday, and address of an abandoned property to apply for a credit card