What To Do If Your Identity Is Stolen

Here is what you should do if you find yourself the victim of identity theft:

Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus.

Tell them that you're an identity theft victim. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed in your file, as well as a victim's statement that asks creditors to call you before opening any new accounts or changing your existing accounts. This can help prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name. A dispute letter to the credit bureau should be sent for each fraudulent account.

1. Order copies of your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Credit bureaus must give you a free copy of your report if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, and you ask for it in writing.
2. Review your reports carefully to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized charges made to your existing accounts.
3. Check the section of your report that lists "inquiries." Where "inquiries" appear from the company(ies) that opened the fraudulent account(s), request that they be removed from your report.
4. In a few months, order new copies of your reports to verify your corrections and changes, and to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Credit accounts include all accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, phone companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service providers. If you are closing your existing accounts, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords when you open new accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mothers maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your social security number, your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. If the identity thief has made charges or debits, ask the company about the following forms for disputing those transactions:

1. For New Unauthorized Accounts: Does the company accept the ID Theft Affidavit? If not, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms.
2. For Your Existing Accounts: Ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn't have special forms, use ours.
3. If your ATM card has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card as soon as you can. Get a new card with a new PIN.
4. If your checks have been stolen or misused, stop payment and ask your bank to notify the check verification service with which it does business. While no federal law limits your losses if someone steals your checks and forges your signature, state laws may protect you. Most states hold the Bank responsible for losses from a forged check. At the same time, however, most states require you to take reasonable care of your account. For example, you may be held responsible for the forgery if you fail to notify the bank in a timely manner that a check was lost or stolen. Contact your state banking or consumer protection agency for information.

You can contact major check verification companies directly for the following services:

1. To request that they notify retailers who use their databases not to accept your checks, call: TeleCheck:800.710.9898 or 800.927.0188
2. Certegy, Inc. (previously Equifax Check Systems): 800.437.5120
3. International Check Services: 1.800.631.9656
4. To find out if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name, call:
   SCAN:800.262.7771

Follow up all calls in writing with a fraudulent account statement. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep copies for your files.

Very often, the bank, credit card company or others need proof of the crime in order to erase the debts created by the identity thief. File a police report and if you can't get a copy of it, at least get the report number.

1. Provide documentation, including debt collection letters, credit reports and your notarized ID Theft Affidavit.
2. Be persistent. Local authorities may tell you that they can't take a report. Stress the importance of a police report; many creditors require one to resolve your dispute. Also remind them that under their voluntary "Police Report Initiative," credit bureaus will automatically block the fraudulent account and bad debts from appearing on your credit report, but only if you can give them a copy of the police report. If you can't get the local police to take a report, try your county police. If that doesn't work, try your state police. If you're told that identity theft is not a crime under your state law, ask to file a Miscellaneous Incident Report instead.
3. Be a motivating force. Ask your police department to search the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database for other complaints in your community. You may not be the first or only victim of this identity thief. If there is a pattern of cases, local authorities may give your case more consideration.

Tips on organizing your case

• Follow up in writing with all contacts you've made on the phone or in person. Use certified mail, return receipt requested.
• Keep copies of all correspondence or forms you send.
• Write down the name of anyone you talk to, what he or she told you, and the date the conversation occurred. Chart Your Course of Action.
• Keep the originals of supporting documentation, like police reports and letters to and from creditors; send copies only.
• Set up a filing system for easy access to your paperwork.
• Keep old files even if you believe your case is closed. One of the most difficult and annoying aspects of identity theft is that errors can reappear on your credit reports or your information can be re-circulated.