As if there's not enough for parents to worry about--not only are moms and dads concerned about kidnappers, they should start paying more attention to identity-nappers.

The spokesperson for the Florida Attorney General says there's a growing trend of child identity theft.

Jessica Willmer got something unusual in the mail.

"Who did this? Why? Why would you send something to my baby?" Said Willmer.

Willmer says just a couple of days ago, her nine month old son received a credit card offer.

The Florida Attorney General says that's a good sign that a child's identity may have been stolen.

Willmer said, "Scares me to death. He's only nine months old, that's not fair."

A recent survey found children are most often targeted between ages zero to five. The Attorney General says although statistics are not kept on identity theft victims under 18, estimates indicate the crime impacts more than 500,000 children nationally each year.

Identity theft can lead to a mortgage in the child's name or credit card debt.

The spokesperson says the parent or victim usually don't realize ID theft has occurred until the child is grown.

Tallahassee resident Danielle Covington says she'll start checking her son's status. She said, "I truly couldn't imagine him being 18 years old and credit is bad, not with no credit, but credit is bad because of what someone else has done and I possibly allowed it."

The Attorney General says unfortunately, the ID thieves may often be the parents themselves, or relatives who have access to a child's social security number. For example, adults frequently use their child's SSN to secure utilties for a home. This generates credit card offers, which allows parents or guardians to sometimes open lines of credit.

The Attorney General says penalties for parents or guardians convicted of child ID theft are stronger than for those convicted of the ID theft of an adult. The parent or guardian could face a prison term of up to 15 years.

Here are some tips from the Attorney General's Office to protect children from identity theft:
*Try to limit the use of your child's social security number.
*Don't carry your child's social security card around in your purse or wallet.
*Watch for mail that may come in your child's name.
*Make sure the child's school ID card does not require a date of birth or social security number.

Spokeswoman Sandi Copes said,
"If a school is issuing an identification card that has that child's social security number on it, if possible, request a different identification number be used."

Copes says kids also have a responsibility to not give out their personal information, especially over the Internet. Parents should monitor the websites visited by their children.

For more information, visit www.myfloridalegal.com.

October 19-25 is National Protect Your Identity Week.