What Do You Do If Your Identity Is Stolen?

If you do not have an Identity Theft protection plan in place and you find out your identity has been stolen, there are several steps that you should take immediately.

Remember, it is very important that you keep records of the time and date of all the steps you take, details of any conversations you have, and copies of any letters you write or forms you file, because you may need to produce them later.

1. Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Reports. Review Your Credit Reports.

To help prevent any further new accounts from being opened in your name, call any one of the three consumer repositories below–you only need to call one; they are required to call the other two–to place a fraud alert (good for 90 days, although under certain circumstances you can file an extended fraud alert which lasts 7 years). Make sure you receive a confirmation from the company. This fraud alert requires creditors to follow certain rules before they extend new credit or change existing credit.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com

After you have placed a fraud alert on your file, you are entitled to order one free copy of your credit report from each repository (different from the one free credit report you get annually). Check these reports very carefully for new accounts, or inquiries from companies you never contacted, or debts that are not yours. You will need to deal with any incorrect information immediately.

Some states allow you to place a credit freeze that will prevent third parties from accessing your credit report. However, a freeze does not protect current accounts from being accessing by thieves or from someone opening a new account where a credit check is not done before hand.

2. Close out Your Accounts that Have Been Improperly Accessed.

Call the fraud departments of each company where there are new or changed accounts and ask them to close these accounts. Make sure you follow up with a written confirmation and supporting documentations (police report or FTC complaint). Request that the companies send you confirmation that the accounts have been closed and that the fraudulent debts have been cleared.

3. File a Complaint with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline [1-877-IDTHEFT] or access the online complaint form at https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03 to file a complaint with the FTC. When you go and file a report with your local police department (see #4), bring a copy of this complaint and have them attach it to the police report. You can now use this report to help you clean up your credit report and stop the debts from reappearing, help get companies off your back when they continue to try to collect fraudulent debts, and help place an extended fraud alert on your credit report.

4. File a Report with Your Local Police Department.

Either call or go to your local police department and ask to file a report about your identity theft. Bring a printed copy of your FTC Identity Theft Complaint form and all the attached documents that you filed, and have them attach it to the report.
When they have finished making the report, request a copy for your files. This will help you fight any debts incurred in your name, or new accounts that you did not open. If you are unable to get a copy of the complaint, at least get the number of the report so you can reference it if you need to.