What if you are a victim of identity fraud or theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, the most important thing to do is act quickly. You will want to keep a written journal of your efforts. This information may be needed at a later date to prove you were not responsible for the debt incurred or any crimes that may be associated as a result of the theft.

Contact the authorities
Review Your Credit
Put a fraud alert on your credit report
If your credit cards were stolen, call your creditors!
If your checks were stolen, notify your banks!
If your ATM card(s) was stolen, order a new one!
Fraudulent change of address.
If your Social Security Number has been misused
Notify the Passport Office

Lynda's Story

Lynda was a caring person who befriended a single mother with four children. This woman had fallen on hard times. Lynda with her big heart decided to help this family by allowing them to live with her. She also provided them with food and clothing. This woman didn’t have much work experience but Lynda tried to help her with that too.

What Lynda didn’t know was this woman didn’t have any intention on getting a “real job”. She was already hard at work……stealing Lynda’s identity.

It was around Christmas time when Lynda realized she was expecting a credit card that she had not received. She called the creditor to inquiry about the card; Lynda was SHOCKED when the creditor stated the card was not only delivered but maxed out $6,000.00. This was only the beginning of the nightmare. Lynda was in tears, she planned to use this credit to purchase gifts for her family. The creditor explained to Lynda that she would have to file a police report and fax a copy of the report to the creditor. It was further stated that a fraud investigation would be initiated. Lynda would then be notified by the creditor of the outcome. In the meantime, she was left wondering how this could have occurred.

A few weeks later, Lynda was on-line balancing her checking account. She spent quite a bit of money during the holidays. As she was going through each line item, she noticed several checks that were numerically out of order. She began to investigate and found that she did not write the checks. She called her credit union. She explained how her credit card was also stolen. She asked the credit union if she should send a copy of her police report. Another fraud investigation was initiated.

The results of the credit union investigation were not in Lynda’s favor. The investigator found that Lynda’s roommate had a prior record. This was news to Lynda. She never thought to ask her new roommate about her criminal background. The investigator stated Lynda had a responsibility to know who was living in her home and take precautions to safeguard her important papers/documents. The credit union did not refund Lynda the monies that were fraudulently taken from her account.

Lynda decided to talk to her roommate about the identity theft. Linda walked into her roommates living area. She found one of her old driver’s license and several credit card applications. These applications would come daily. Lynda had been throwing them in the trash. She also found that her roommate had applied for credit to purchase a used car.

Nothing is worse than having your identity taken from someone you trust but it happens every day. The good news is Lynda was able to minimize the damage of her situation. Believe me when I say she was lucky. After her roommate was arrested Lynda received two credit cards she didn’t apply for. Lynda was not found liable for the $6,000 credit card. She did lose $1,000 in cash from the checks written from her account. As for the car, thank goodness she was able to stop the transaction.

Lynda pressed charges on her roommate. There is still no outcome after three years of court hearings.

TOP OF PAGE

Contact the authorities:

Like Lynda you will need to contact the authorities immediately. Report the crime to police and sheriff's departments with jurisdiction in your case. Some creditors will require you to show the report as evidence that you are innocent. As you’ve seen from Lynda story you may still be held responsible if you didn’t adequately protect your privacy.

Give the police/sheriff's department as much documented evidence as possible, and get a copy of your police report. Make sure to ask the detective for a business card. Make a copy and attach it to the reports you give to your creditors. This will make it easier for them to carry out their own investigation.

Some police departments refuse to write reports on such crimes. If this happens to you be sure to get the name, number and time you attempted to make the report.

The FTC now has an on-line form you can fill out to report your identity theft:

rn.ftc.gov or you can call toll-free: Identity Theft Toll-Free Hotline - 877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338)

In addition, there is an FTC affidavit for consumer to fill out and send to the following companies and that accepts or endorses the FTC ID Theft Affidavit:

American Bankers Association
Bank of America
Call for Action
Chase Manhattan Bank
Computer Sciences Corporation
Council of Better Business Bureaus
Direct Marketing Association
Equifax
Experian
Federal Reserve Board
First National Bank Omaha
GE Capital
Identity Theft Resource Center
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Providian
SBC Service
Sears
TransUnion
VW Credit

TOP OF PAGE

Review Your Credit

Have I mentioned this enough? PULL YOUR CREDIT REPORT! It is difficult to obtain a mortgage or car loan using someone else's identity but it has happened. Most thieves are thieves will typically go for credit cards. New accounts may not show instantly; look for recent inquiries. In Lynda’s case she called one the inquiries on her report. American Express stated she was approved and her card was in the mail. The only problem was she didn’t apply for an American Express Blue.

If accounts have been opened up in your name, contact the creditors immediately with whom your name has been used fraudulently. Credit card companies have fraud departments which will help you.

Put a fraud alert on your credit report.

Immediately call and/or write the all three credit reporting agencies (CRAs) listed below: Report the theft of your credit cards or numbers, and ask to have your account flagged with a fraud alert. This will prevent even you from opening accounts without additional verification. Fraud alerts will remain on your credit report for about two years.

"Report Fraud" Hotlines:

Experian: 888-EXPERIAN, 888-397-3742
Equifax: 800-525-
Trans Union: 800-680-7289

If your credit report has already been damaged (inquiries you did not make, accounts you did not open have been placed on your report), you can use the “credit repair guide” to help remove these items.

TOP OF PAGE

If your credit cards were stolen, call your creditors!

It's important that you act quickly to prevent as much liability for fraudulent activity on your accounts as possible. Contact your creditors on the phone and follow up your call with the facts in writing. Make sure you send any written communication certified return receipt. Most creditors will issue replacement cards with no trouble as long as you act immediately. If fraudulent charges have been made to your accounts, at the very most you will be responsible for no more than $50.

Important Note: Ask that old accounts be processed as "account closed at consumer's request." This is better than "card lost or stolen". Having a lost stolen or stolen card can impact your credit score and it shows that you are irresponsible.

Monitor your mail and credit card bills for evidence of new fraudulent activity. Like with Lynda’s story, your thief will take from right under your nose.

If your checks were stolen, notify your banks!

It is best to close your checking account altogether and open a new one. This is the best way to protect your privacy. You should also inform all the check verification companies. Many times a thief will take your information and make other fake checks with your account information.

CheckRite, (800) 766-2748
ChexSystems, (800) 428-9623 (closed checking accounts)
CrossCheck, (800) 552-1900 Equifax,
(800) 437-5120 National Processing Co. (NPC),
(800) 526-5380 SCAN,
(800) 262-7771 TeleCheck, (800) 710-9898

Any negative items reported to ChexSystems will prevent you from opening up a checking account anywhere else for 5 years. Ask your bank to remove any information reported to ChexSystems as a result of your identity fraud.

TOP OF PAGE

If your ATM card(s) was stolen, order a new one!

Don’t forget to order a new debit card and cancel the old one. If your ATM or debit card has been stolen or compromised, report it immediately. All new accounts should be password protected. Do not use numbers associated with your social security, birth date or street address. It is also a good idea not to compromise you PIN number when using an ATM machine. Make sure individuals respect your space and be discrete when entering you PIN by covering the numbers as you enter them.

Fraudulent change of address

Many times a thief will change your address. Contact your local Postal Inspector if you suspect a thief has filed a change of your address. This is considered mail fraud. To obtain the Postmaster information for your area, you can visit www.usps.gov or call 800.275.8777.

If your Social Security Number has been misused

If your Social Security Number has been misused Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) at www.ssa.gov to report fraudulent use of your Social Security number or you can call 800.772.1213. Please note: the SSA will only change your number if you fit their fraud victim criteria.

I know of many cases where thieves will use someone’s SSN number for employment purposes. To avoid this from happening to you, order a copy of your Earnings and Benefits Statement and check it for accuracy each year.

Notify the Passport Office

Notify the passport office in writing that you are a victim of identity theft. You can learn more by visiting travel.state.gov/passport_services.html

TOP OF PAGE