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How To Fix the Effects of Identity Theft

by Carol Thomas

Overview

You open a letter informing you that you owe $15,000 in charges placed on your Chase Visa account, but you have no Chase account. Instead you've just received a warning that you may have joined the 9 million Americans victimized each year by identify theft. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which supplies this statistic, recommends that you immediately take specific steps to repair the damage this crime does to your reputation and your finances.

Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Website

Step 1

Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian or Equifax. Request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit report to notify potential creditors of your status. Whichever agency you contact first will relay that information to the others.
Step 2

Obtain a credit report from each credit reporting agency. Placing a fraud alert on your account entitles you to a free report.
Step 3

Review your credit reports carefully. Identify new accounts that you didn't establish, changes to your current accounts that you didn't make, and inaccurate personal information.
Step 4

File a complaint with the FTC, the agency charged with assisting identity theft victims. Not only will your FTC ID Theft Complaint help to prevent others from being victimized by this crime, but you can also use the complaint to help prove that you're an identity theft victim.
Step 5

File a crime report with your local police department. Identify all fraudulent data you found in your credit report. Provide a copy of your FTC ID Theft Complaint. Obtain a copy of the Identity Theft Report filed with the police department.
Step 6

Notify each credit reporting agency of fraudulent data in your credit report. Enclose a copy of the Identity Theft Report provided by the police department. Including this document forces credit reporting agencies to stop adding fraudulent data to your report. It also lets you set an extended fraud alert on your credit report that will remain valid for 7 years.
Step 7

Notify all creditors whose listing in your credit report includes fraudulent charges. Identity thieves can add charges to accounts you've established yourself, or set up new accounts in your name. Contact creditors first by telephone; then follow up with certified letter in which you include a copy of your Identity Theft Report. Obtain a written follow-up report from each creditor once the account is cleared.

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Credit reports FTC ID Theft Complaint Identity Theft Report
Credit reports
FTC ID Theft Complaint
Identity Theft Report
Check your credit reports regularly even after fraudulent data has been removed. Identity thieves still have your personal information and can create new accounts in your name at any time.
Check your credit reports regularly even after fraudulent data has been removed. Identity thieves still have your personal information and can create new accounts in your name at any time.
Although fraudulent credit accounts and fraudulent charges added to your own accounts are the most typical consequence of identity theft, be alert to potential damage from other directions. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse warns that identity thieves can set up bank accounts, take out loans, misuse social security numbers, obtain passports or even commit felonies using your identification.
Although fraudulent credit accounts and fraudulent charges added to your own accounts are the most typical consequence of identity theft, be alert to potential damage from other directions. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse warns that identity thieves can set up bank accounts, take out loans, misuse social security numbers, obtain passports or even commit felonies using your identification.