What to do if your identity is stolen

jeff | April 11, 2016 | Blog, Credit and Debt | No Comments

homer_simpson_ned_flanders_credit_card fraud — Fox

News stories and – more often – advertising about identity theft are everywhere. And while the chances of having your identity stolen are relative slim, if you are one of the unlucky few who have had it happen to them then it’s important to act quickly. The question is what should you do?

Well funny you should ask.

Here are 9 simple steps to follow if your identity has been stolen.

1. Notify the banks or creditors that has been compromised

The first step is to contact the banks and financial institutions that have been affected. You will want to shut down the affected accounts and open new ones. Pretty much all banks and credit cards have a zero-liability policy, however the Fair Credit Billing Act specifies that your maximum liability for unauthorized charges is $50.

You will need to act quickly in order to save your self money. Debit cards and electronic transfers from your bank account are governed by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. And according to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act victims need to move quickly and report a lost or stolen debit card before any fraudulent transactions occur. However, if purchases or withdrawals are made before you notice the card is missing, you have a pretty small window – two business days – after you realize the missing card to report the unauthorized charges or transfers and maintain your $50 liability limit. If you don’t report the fraudulent charges within two business days, there is a $500 liability limit for up to 60 days after the statement reflecting the fraud is mailed. And after 60 days, you have an unlimited liability for fraudulent charges. And remember that you should also notify banks of any lost or stolen checks.

2. Set up a fraud alert

Next you will want to contact one of the three credit reporting agencies and request a fraud alert. If you set it up with one agency it will automatically be put on all three of your credit reports. Fraud alerts last 90 days.

If you’ve filed a police report or filled out the ID theft complaint form from the Federal Trade Commission you can put an extended fraud alert on your credit which lasts for seven years.

A credit freeze would provide the most protection but it will also prevent you from obtaining new credit.

3. Check your credit reports

Installing a fraud alert in your credit file will mean you automatically receive a free credit report from each of the three agencies. Once you receive your reports, check your reports for signs of fraud – like new accounts you didn’t open, credit inquiries you don’t recognize, an employer you never worked for or any personal information that is unfamiliar to you.

You will want to pull each of your credit reports at least once over the course of the next year to check for fraudulent activity.

4. Consider putting a freeze on your credit reports

A credit freeze will prevent the credit reporting agencies from releasing your credit report to new creditors. You might need to pay up to $10 at each bureau depending on the state you live in. However it’s usually free if you can prove you’re an ID theft victim. Just remember that you will be completely locking down your credit information which includes new credit you will want to apply for.

5. Contact the Federal Trade Commission

You can contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1 (877) 438-4338.

Federal investigators tend to pursue only the larger 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 complaint and affidavit form at the FTC’s website and print out for your records. This plus a police report will serve as your ID theft report and will help you dispute fraudulent accounts.

An ID theft report is more comprehensive than a police report. The police department may incorporate the ID theft complaint form into its report or they might have another way of providing the full details needed for an ID theft report.

If you don’t file a police report, you can use the complaint as an ID theft affidavit to request companies to remove you from being responsible for unauthorized new accounts. However, the affidavit doesn’t provide as many legal protections as an ID theft report.

6. File a police report

Call or visit your local police department. If the crimes didn’t occur in the same city, you may also need to report the crime with the various police departments where the crimes occurred.

Getting a police report is very importance however not all states require that local law enforcement must take a police report on identity theft from victims.

The Federal Trade Commission provides a cover letter to give to your local law enforcement department which highlights the importance of police reports for consumer victims.

When filling out your police report, make sure it lists all fraud accounts. You want to give as much information as possible and give the police a copy of the report form from the FTC.

If the police don’t take reports for identity theft, ask them to sign your FTC complaint form and provide the police report number in the “Law Enforcement Report” section.

7. Send your creditors a copy of your identity theft report

You will next want to alert your creditors in writing that you have been a victim of fraud and include a copy of your ID theft report from the FTC. Next, ask each impacted creditor to give you and your investigating law enforcement agency copies of the documents showing fraudulent transactions.

Heads up that you might need to fight to get this documentation. You’ll need these to help track down the perpetrator. Alerting your creditors of the fraud will hopefully get them to stop reporting the information to the credit reporting agencies.

8. Contact the credit reporting agencies

Sending a copy of your identity theft report to the credit reporting agencies should prevent fraudulent accounts from appearing on your credit report.

But remember to keep a close eye on credit reports to make sure that fraudulent information doesn’t get added again.