No matter what steps we take to avoid becoming a victim of Identity Theft, a determined thief may STILL steal your identity.  If you’ve been the victim of Identity Theft, it is imperative that you act quickly.  Due to the attention that’s been given to this topic, there is LOTS of help available.  The exact steps you should take will vary somewhat, depending upon how your information was misused; however, the following may help guide you:

Write it Down!

Keep a thorough record of all correspondence.  Send all letters by certified mail and keep copies of the originals.  Recovering from Identity Theft can be a long process, so you want to make sure you track your progress through each step.

---

Go immediately to the FTC site on Identity Theft.

While the FTC does not resolve individual consumer problems itself, they are a great resource in dealing with this situation, having articles and guidelines on recovering from Identity Theft.  Working with creditors and consumer advocates, they have also put together an “ID Theft Affidavit (PDF File)” to be used when new accounts have been opened in your name.

You can also file a complaint with the FTC:

• By using the online complaint form;
• By phone: 877.ID.THEFT (1-877-438-4338);
• In writing: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.

---

Contact the Credit Reporting Agencies:

Ask that a “Fraud Alert” be placed on your Credit Report.  By placing an alert on your Credit Report, you are entitled to free copies of your credit report and, most importantly, businesses must verify your identity before issuing credit to you.  (Note: this can cause a delay if you’re trying to obtain credit.) 

There are two types of fraud alerts, an “initial” alert and an “extended” alert, that you can request. 

1.  An “initial” alert stays on your credit report for 90 days and entitles you to one free credit report from each of the Credit Reporting Agencies.

2.  An “extended” alert stays on your credit report for 7 years, entitles you to two free credit reports within 12 months from each of the Credit Reporting Agencies, and removes you from pre-screened credit offer marketing lists for 5 years.  To put this type of alert on your credit report, you will need to provide them with an “identity theft report”, which usually consists of a police report and additional information required by the credit reporting agencies.

About Identity Theft Reports

From the FTC:

An identity theft report may have two parts:

Part One is a copy of a report filed with a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, like your local police department, your State Attorney General, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the FTC, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. There is no federal law requiring a federal agency to take a report about identity theft; however, some state laws require local police departments to take reports. When you file a report, provide as much information as you can about the crime, including anything you know about the dates of the identity theft, the fraudulent accounts opened and the alleged identity thief.

Part Two of an identity theft report depends on the policies of the consumer reporting company and the information provider (the business that sent the information to the consumer reporting company). That is, they may ask you to provide information or documentation in addition to that included in the law enforcement report which is reasonably intended to verify your identity theft. They must make their request within 15 days of receiving your law enforcement report, or, if you already obtained an extended fraud alert on your credit report, the date you submit your request to the credit reporting company for information blocking. The consumer reporting company and information provider then have 15 more days to work with you to make sure your identity theft report contains everything they need. They are entitled to take five days to review any information you give them. For example, if you give them information 11 days after they request it, they do not have to make a final decision until 16 days after they asked you for that information. If you give them any information after the 15-day deadline, they can reject your identity theft report as incomplete; you will have to resubmit your identity theft report with the correct information.

You may find that most federal and state agencies, and some local police departments, offer only “automated” reports, reports that do not require a face-to-face meeting with a law enforcement officer. Automated reports may be submitted online, or by telephone or mail. If you have a choice, do not use an automated report. The reason? It’s more difficult for the consumer reporting company or information provider to verify the information. Unless you are asking a consumer reporting company to place an extended fraud alert on your credit report, you probably will have to provide additional information or documentation when you use an automated report.

---

Obtain Your Credit Reports

Obtain your credit reports and review them carefully.  Look for: inquiries from companies that you have not contacted, new accounts, debts you were unaware of.  Make sure that your name, social security number, address, and employers are correct.  If you find information that is incorrect, immediately alert the Credit Reporting Agencies.  See Disputing Entries on Your Credit Report. (Note: New accounts may take up to 6 months to show up on your credit report, so make sure you check again later!)

---

File a police report!

Report the incident to the police.  Though they may be unable to help you, you may need the report to convince creditors that an Identity Theft has occurred.  Apparently, it is sometimes difficult to get local or state police to file incident reports in the case of ID Theft.  If you are having trouble, visit the FTC’s ID Theft site for more tips on what you can do.

---

Contact your Creditors:

If you’ve had credit cards stolen, report them to the credit card companies immediately.

---

Bank accounts:

If your checks were stolen, contact your bank.  It may be best to close the account and reopen a new one.

Get a new ATM card with a new account number and password.

---

Stolen Mail:

If someone has changed your address with the post office or committed identity theft by mail, you may file a complaint with the US Postal Inspector:

• By using the online complaint form;
• By phone: 800.ASK.USPS (1-800-275-8777);
• In writing: Inspection Service Support Group, 222 S Riverside Plaza STE 1250, Chicago IL 60606-6100.

---

Investments:

If you believe that someone has tampered with your securities investments or a brokerage account, alert your broker and file a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

• By using the online complaint form;
• In writing: SEC Complaint Center, 100 F Street NE, Washington DC, 20549-0213.

---

Phone Service:

If someone has established new phone service in your name or is making unauthorized calls that seem to come from your number, call your service provider.  If you have trouble removing the fraudulent charges, you can contact your state’s Public Utility Commission or the Federal Communications Commission.

---

Employment:

If someone has used your social security number to obtain employment, report it to the Social Security Administration:

• By using the online complaint form;
• By phone: 800.269.0271;
• In writing: SSA Fraud Hotline, PO Box 17768, Baltimore MD, 21235.

---

Driver’s License:

If you believe that your social security number or name has been used to obtain a driver’s license or identification card fraudulently, contact your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

---

Bankruptcy:

If someone has filed for bankruptcy in your name, contact the US Trustee in the region where the bankrtupcy was filed.  A complete listing of the US Trustee’s regions can be found at www.usdoj.gov/ust.

---

Criminal records/arrests:

If someone has used your name and information when stopped by law enforcement and caused an arrest warrant to be filed in your name, you should contact an attorney immediately.

---

Passport Fraud:

If someone has ordered a passport in your name, you should notify the US State Department’s Passport Services Department:

• By using the online complaint form;
• By phone: 202.955.0430;
• In writing: U.S. Department of State, Passport Services, Consular Lost/Stolen Passport Section, 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036.

When corresponding with the Credit Bureaus, how much information should I provide?

The rule of thumb is to make the Credit Bureaus responsible for verifying credit entries; therefore, you don’t want to confirm negative entries for them. If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, though, you’ll want to tell them EVERYTHING. Use common sense.