Many adults are vigilant about protecting their identities from ruthless crooks bent on appropriating their information — but is looking after ones own self enough?

"Many parents have no idea that their child is a victim (of identity theft), and this crime may go undetected for years-until the child applies for a job, loan, or rents their first apartment," according to a statement released by the Better Business Bureau.

"Protecting a child's identity is easy and vital," said Steve J. Bernas, the president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and northern Illinois, including Shorewood.

"Simply follow some steps the BBB provides, and you may save your child from hardships in the future," Bernas advised.

And those steps are:

• Do not carry around your child's Social Security card
• Shred documents
• Find out who has access to the child's personal information at school
• Monitor your child's Internet use
• Set strict privacy settings on social networking sites