Boomers stealing from their children

Another HT to Joel for sending us this link.

For a long time now I have been writing about boomers stealing from their kids through the government. Running up huge deficits that us and future generations will be crushed under.

Now it seems that boomers are literally stealing from their children.

Angie got a shock when she checked her credit report last year. The Kansas State University student discovered one of the credit cards listed hadn't been paid in more than two months -- and it wasn't an account she recognized.

I called my mother to talk to her about it and how I was worried I was a victim of identity fraud, Angie said. My mother confessed that she was the one that had used the card when she got in a bind.

The mother had intercepted a preapproved credit card application intended for Angie, forged Angie's signature and added herself as an authorized user. She (got the card) thinking she would have it under control, but it went delinquent over Christmas time when money was short, Angie explained.

Angie's mom has committed identity theft against her. Pure and simple. Angie calls her mom worried that she was the victim of identity theft. Only to find out, surprise, she is a victim of identity theft. By her own mother.

Talk about being betrayed. Nothing like cutting right to the chase. It's one thing to, "die broke" it's another thing to die and bankrupt the kids at the same time.

Some parental thieves refuse to believe they've done anything immoral or illegal. Like other cases of parental theft -- such as raiding custodial accounts, swiping money from trust funds or selling off savings bonds given as birthday presents -- the parents may justify their behavior as ultimately benefiting, or at least not hurting, the victim.

The rationale is, Ill pay it off. They'll never be harmed, Foley said. If some of the ill-gotten gain is spent on the kids, this attitude is reinforced. But if you didn't pay your own bills, what makes you think you're going to do the right thing now? You still have the same poor money management skills that caused you the problem in the first place.

And such identity theft is far from a victimless crime. Parental ID thieves:

Let's face it. Boomers rarely think they are doing anything wrong. Even when it is blatant. It will take years for the kids to recover from the long term effects that this will have on them.

Angie won't press charges. If she doesn't press charges then the mark won't come off her credit. The mark doesn't come off her credit and what happens when she goes for next year's student loan? (OK, she shouldn't be taking student loans but that's a different discussion.)

What happens when Angie tries to get a job and they pull her credit and won't hire her? What will it cost her when she tries to get a car loan and the interest rate is jacked up an extra 3% - 4%?

Press charges Angie or your mother will just do it to you again. She got away with it once. She'll do it again.

The article does include some things to do (one is press charges). Go on over and read the rest.

And for you gen-xers reading this. Don't ever do this to your kids. If you do then we'll know you just want to be a boomer.