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Identity Theft:
If it happens to you:
What should you do if someone has stolen your identity?
- Contact any one of the three major credit-reporting agencies. The agency you call will automatically notify the other two agencies. This will trigger an automatic "fraud alert" to be placed in each of your credit reports. This alert notifies creditors to call you for permission before any new accounts are opened in your name. Not all creditors pay attention to these alerts. You need to stay vigilant for new account openings.
- Contact creditors for any accounts that have been tampered with or opened without your knowledge. Be sure to put complaints in writing. File a police report. Document as much as possible. Send copies to creditors and credit bureaus as proof of the crime.
- Report the fraud to the Office of the Inspector General's fraud hotline.
- Contact the FTC. While federal investigators only tend to pursue larger, more sophisticated fraud cases, they do monitor identity theft crimes of all levels in the hopes of discovering patterns and breaking up larger rings. Fill out the ID Theft Affidavit, make copies and send to all the creditors and the credit-reporting agencies.
- Change account passwords. Avoid using your mother's maiden name or the last four digits of your Social Security number as a personal identification number.
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