Even those who are the most careful with their credit card, social security number, and personal information are at risk of having their ID stolen. We live in a digital age, and that means everything is done electronically. By taking precautions a person can minimize the risk; however, the thieves will always find a way. If you find yourself subject to identification theft, keep these key points in mind in order to maintain your sanity.
Keep Track of Everything
The most important thing to remember is that you will forget. In order to make sure you have a solid case, and to be sure you are not liable for fraudulent charges, keep track of all phone calls, who you spoke with, when the call was, and the topics of the conversation.
File an Initial Fraud Alert
There are three credit reporting companies for consumers in the US (Equifax, Transunion, and Experian). Contact any of these three and have an Initial Fraud Alert placed. This will lock down your credit for 90 days, so even if you want a new card you will have to wait.
Order a Credit Report
When you have an initial Fraud Alert placed on your account, you can order a free credit report from each of the three companies. Carefully review the report and determine just how many accounts have been opened in your name (You can get these reports for free once per year without the fraud alert, set a reminder to pull one every 4 months so you don’t have to go the entire year without a report). You can also use a company like Credit Sesame to track your credit all year. They also have a free credit monitoring service.
File an Affidavit of Fraud
This is a bit more extensive than your initial fraud alert. This is your legal copy that says you did not authorize the use of your identity and it will be your key to making sure you are not liable. File online through the FTC website.
Contact Creditors
Each creditor that the thief used will need to be contacted separately. Along with your fraud alert, affidavit, and your details of what exactly happened, you will be able to get these accounts closed down.
File a Police Report
The more information you have, and the more departments that are aware that you are a victim, the more likely the perpetrator will be caught. Call your local police department to determine where you need to go to file the report. They will most likely need your Affidavit of Fraud to proceed with anything.
Repair Your Credit
These steps have all been your initial reaction. You still have to take the steps to make sure that your credit will be returned to normal. Learn more about what to do next on the FTC website.
Having your ID stolen just causes a lot of headache for you the consumer. Fortunately the majority of ID theft is having your credit card (or the card information) stolen. If this happens just call up your credit card company. Since most cards have fraud protection they will take all the steps and do all the legwork for you. Most likely you will need to fill out a form of which charges are fraudulent, and sign the page legally binding you saying you did not make the charges.
Have you ever had your ID stolen? What was the result?
