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WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT?
If you think that you are a victim of identity theft,
you need to do several things:
Contact the Police
First, you must contact the police where the
crime occurred. Meaning, if you live in New York, but the
identity thieve committed their crime in Florida, you
must contact the Florida police from the specific city
where the crime occurred.
Contact Your Bank
Let
them know about the crime and immediately request
cancellation of all of your credit/debit cards associated
with your bank accounts. You should also request new
checks. Also, ask the bank is their is anything else you
can do to protect yourself from the identity theft.
You can contest all checks that have been forged in your
name and/or any withdrawals that were not initiated by
you.
Contact Your Credit Card Company/s
Cancel your cards and request new ones. Verify all
spending activity as yours. Did you know that you are not
responsible for more than $50 if an thieve uses
your
credit card
for identity theft.
Dealing with Debt Collectors
When you are a victim of identity theft, there is a
strong possibility that you will eventually receive
contact from debt collectors looking for payments for
debts that occurred by means of the identity thief. You
need to respond quickly and document all correspondence.
Explain that you have been a victim of identity theft.
You are entitled to the name of the business seeking
payment as well as copies of any credit applications that
were illegally submitted in your name. Learn more about
dealing with creditors.
Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Report
This will require creditors to take added safety
measures to verify that any credit applied in your
name is valid. You can put an “initial fraud alert” on
your report. This will last for 90 days. This is good if
you lose your wallet or credit cards. An “extended
fraud alert” should be placed when you are a victim of
identity theft. This type of alert will stay on your
report for seven years. However, you will need to provide
an 'identity theft report' in order to receive this
type of alert.
To have either one of these fraud alerts place on your
credit file, just contact any one of the three major
credit reporting agencies, your request will be shared
with the other agencies. Equifax,
Experian or
TransUnion.
Stay On Top of Your Credit!
We suggest that you enroll in the
credit monitoring
system. Doing so will allow you to regularly monitor your
credit report from all three major credit reporting
companies. This will allow you to easily spot any
accounts and/or spending that is not yours. Learn more
about the
credit monitoring system.
Dispute Any Errors!
Follow the instructions on this page to learn how to
remove any misinformation listed as a result of identity
theft.
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