If you become a victim of
idenity theft:
- Contact your local Police Department and
file a report. A police report is critical
in helping victims get rid of fraudulent
debts and clear up their credit reports.
- Notify banks, creditors and utilities.
Close accounts that have been used by
thieves. Choose new passwords and PINs for
all of your accounts and don’t use your
Mother’s maiden name as a password. Notify
merchants that issued credit or accepted bad
checks in your name. Use your police report
or FTC affidavit as a backup.
- Call the toll-free number of any one of
the three major credit bureaus to place a
fraud alert on your credit report. Fraud
alerts can help prevent an identity thief
from opening additional accounts in the
victim’s name. As soon as the credit bureau
confirms the fraud alert, the other two
credit bureaus will automatically be
notified to place fraud alerts, and all
three credit reports will be sent to the
victim free of charge.
- Close accounts that you know or believe
to have been tampered with or opened
fraudulently. When disputing new
unauthorized accounts, many banks and
creditors will accept the ID Theft Affidavit
provided by the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), which will save you valuable time in
the recovery process.
- File a complaint with the FTC at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call 877-IDTHEFT
(877-438-4338). Consumer complaints help
make a database a better resource for law
enforcement officers.
- Download a copy of Take Charge: Fighting
Back Against Identity Theft, from the FTC
Website that tells you how to minimize the
risk of, and recover from, identity theft.
- For fraud involving stolen mail, also
file a complaint with the US Postal Service
at www.usps.com/postalinspectors/idtheft_ncpw.htm
•Order your credit report each year. Get
credit reports from all three credit bureaus
and study them closely. Some victims say
that it took them years to clear their
credit files and that new credit was
sometimes granted in their names without
their permission even after fraud alerts
were placed on their accounts.
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