If you supect you may be a victim of fraud or identity theft, there are several actions you should take immediately.
1) You should contact the police.
Report the crime to the police or sheriff’s department that has jurisdiction in your case and request a police report. Although the authorities are often unable to assist you, a police report may be necessary to help convince creditors that someone else has opened an account in your name.
2) You should place a fraud alert on your credit file.
What is a “Fraud Alert”?
A fraud alert is a notice in the file of a consumer at a nationwide consumer reporting agency that notifies the prospective user of the consumer report that the particular consumer may be a victim of fraud or identity theft. Thus, if someone applies for credit in your name, then the verifier comes to a credit reporting agency and the report will include the message letting the verifier know that you have potentially been the victim of fraud or identity theft. This alert is intended to prompt verifiers to take reasonable procedures to authenticate the identity of the consumer who initiated the transaction. You can place an initial (90 days) or extended (7 years) fraud alert on your file. Additionally, military personnel serving away from their regular duty station may place an “active duty” alert to help prevent identity theft.
In order to place a fraud alert on your credit file, you need to contact one of the three consumer reporting agencies below. You will only need to contact one agency. The agency you contact is required to contact the other two agencies.
Equifax
1-800-525-6285
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
www.equifax.com
Experian
1-888-397-3742
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
www.experian.com
TransUnion
1-800-680-7289
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
www.transunion.com
You may place an initial 90 day alert by calling one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies above. You may place an extended 7 year alert by writing to one of the nationwide credit reporting companies and provide an Identity Theft Report as well as a day and evening telephone number. The requirements for an Identity Theft Report are listed on the FTC’s web site at www.ftc.gov. The extended alert also removes your name from pre-screened offers of credit for 5 years. You will receive a confirmation from each nationwide credit reporting agency when an alert is added to your credit file.
If you place a fraud alert on your file, then you are entitled to receive one free copy of your credit report from one of the three credit reporting agencies listed above. You can also request that only the last four digits of your social security number appear on your credit report.
Active Duty Alert. You may request an active duty alert, which will remain on your file for 12 months, by calling any one of the nationwide credit reporting companies. This alert also removes your name from pre-screened offers of credit for 2 years.
Will The Work Number put a fraud alert or active duty alert on my employment file if I request it?
Yes, TALX will place an initial, extended or active duty fraud alert on your employment file, an employment data report, at your request. Please contact the TALX Client Service Center at 1-800-996-7566 and a Client Service Representative will collect information from you in order to put an alert on or block your file.
3) You should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission also.
You can file a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form; or call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261; or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems. |
