If your wallet has been stolen, your computer hacked into, your credit compromised, or you find yourself otherwise a victim of identity theft, there are steps you can take to resolve this problem. Identity theft occurs when someone poses as you and uses your name and identity to commit fraudulent acts such as passing bad checks, defaulting on loans, and filing false tax returns just to name a few. Some steps to resolve identity theft are obvious, some not so evident.
First: Contact the major credit bureaus.
As we discussed in the previous issue of Info Point, there are three major credit reporting agencies that keep your credit information, Equifax (www.equifax.com), Experian (www.experian.com), and Transunion (www.transunion.com). Credit information includes not only when and how and how frequently you pay your bills, but it also includes where you live and have lived in the past, information about your marital status, and even information if you have been arrested or not, as all these items can have bearing on your credit rating. The first thing you need to do if your personal information has been stolen, even before someone uses this information falsely, is to contact one of the three agencies and put a fraud alert on file. The first company that you contact will contact the other two companies and inform them that you need a fraud alert. The fraud alert indicates that the credit agencies must contact you before anyone opens any new accounts in your name or before any of your existing credit information is altered. Your credit report from all three companies will be sent to you free of charge. Note that this fraud alert is only good for 6 months, so you may want to contact the agencies again after this time period and re-instate the fraud alert if necessary. After the initial fraud alert request, you must contact each agency individually to renew the fraud alert.
If you find that there is false activity on your credit reports, contact the credit agencies and dispute the information. Each credit agency has 30 days to resolve the dispute.
Second: Cancel and close all accounts that have been fraudulently used.
Contact all your credit card, bank, and other vendors and let them know your information has been stolen. Stop any checks for bank accounts. Call and report that your ATM card has been stolen. If you had any additional account information that was taken such as utility information or other service provider information, also contact those companies.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an ID theft affidavit form you can print from their web site (www.ftc.gov) that you can use to provide proof that you didn’t open accounts that were opened falsely in your name. Print off the form, fill it out, and have it notarized.
Third: File a police report.
File a police report and get a copy of the report so that you can use it when you are disputing counterfeit activities in your accounts. You may have difficulty filing the police report if a crime, such as the theft of a wallet, was not involved. However, some creditors won’t even start resolving your dispute without having a police report. The police may tell you that identity theft is not a crime in your state, but you have several options to file a report. Information on how to file a police report, including a list of state laws on identity theft are available on the FTC website.
Fourth: File your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Go to the FTC web site and file your complaint. The FTC database is used for investigations of identity theft. The database also helps to maintain a record of identity theft that can be used to learn more about identity theft and what can be done to solve the problem and help victims.
Being a victim of identity theft, like any other crime, can be frustrating, time-consuming, and costly. However, with identity theft being one of the fastest growing crimes, help is available. The best place for help is the FTC. Their web site and their Identity Theft Hotline (1-877-IDTHEFT) staffed by identity theft counselors can help you through the process of restoring your identity.