Most people are aware of some of the steps that can be taken to try and prevent identify theft. But what should you do if you become a victim anyway? Find out here.
There is no doubt about it, identity theft is a problem, and it’s becoming an even bigger problem as the internet becomes a bigger part of our daily lives.
A previous post on how to prevent identity theft can help you with some of the steps you should take to reduce your chances of becoming a victim. However, sometimes you can do everything right, and still become a victim. This is the identity theft help you need so you can start resolving the problems you will face as quickly and easily as possible.
1Contact the Police
This is an important step to take for two reasons. Naturally, it starts a legal investigation to find the person who stole your identity.
It also plays an important role in helping you to recover from identity theft because it officially documents the crime.
Unfortunately, there are many people who claim to be the victim of identity theft in an attempt to avoid paying for items they actually purchased.
Filing a police report is a big step in convincing the companies you will talk to that you truly are a victim. Filing a police report gives you identity theft help by documenting that a crime has been committed.
2Contact All Your Creditors and Banks
The second identity theft help tip is to contact all of your financial related companies as soon as possible. The sooner you report the problem to them, the sooner you will be protected from being responsible for additional charges made to your accounts.
You should speak to someone in the fraud department of each company and document the details of the conversation. Following the conversation, send them a letter detailing what was discussed and send it to them via certified mail to you can confirm they received it.
If there are specific charges that you want to dispute, work with the representative in the fraud department regarding their procedures for this.
It is important enough to repeat this – document every conversation for your records and send a follow up letter (via certified mail) detailing the details of the conversation.
Contacting your creditors and banks gives you identity theft help by stopping future charges and beginning the process of disputing charges that may have already been made.
3Close Accounts That Have Been Tampered With
Closing the accounts that have been used is the best way to protect yourself against future problems and charges. However, keep in mind that you will no longer be able to use these accounts either. You will need to open new accounts and update any automatic payments that may have been set up with the closed accounts.
4Monitor Your Checking Account
Monitor your checking account to see if your thief used any checks to access your account. Frequently, it can take a police department several days to gain legal access to your checking account. However, you may be able to get copies of canceled checks immediately.
Provide the authorities with copies of your canceled checks and they can contact the associated stores for surveillance tapes. Frequently, retail stores re-use these tapes so providing copies of the checks as soon as possible may be the difference between getting the thief on tape or not.
Monitoring your checking account can provide identity theft help by giving the police department information much faster than they can obtain on their own.
5Contact Credit Agencies For a Fraud Alert
Another step you should take to help recover from identity theft is to request a fraud alert from the credit agencies.
You only need to contact one of the three credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian), they are required to contact the other two.
This will put a 90 alert on your account and will notify people or companies who may be checking your credit to be extra thorough when approving new accounts. They must take extra steps to confirm the identity of anyone attempting to open a new account. However, depending upon the personal information known to the identity thief, they may still be able to open accounts.
A fraud alert can provide identity theft help by telling creditors that they should take extra steps to confirm the identity of anyone trying to open accounts.
6Review Your Credit Report
You should be looking for inquires that have been made by companies that you do not know about or debts that are not yours. You should monitor your credit report for at least one year after your identity has been stolen.
Reviewing your credit report can provide identity theft help by letting you know of possible further fraud attempts.
7Freeze Your Credit
Freezing your credit is a more serious step that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It will stop anyone from opening new accounts in your name. This offers you a lot of protection, however freezing your credit also means that YOU can’t open new accounts while this is in place.
8Identity Theft Help Summary
If your identity is stolen, it will likely take a great deal of time to recover. However, if you follow the steps shown here, it should help to make the recovery process as quick and painless as possible.
The number one theft help tip is to contact your creditors and banks as soon as possible, fully document your conversations and send them a follow up letter so you can prove that you spoke to them.
What Do You Think?
Do you have any tips to help others who are the victim of identity theft?
