From The Archives: What To Do If You Are A Victim Of Identity Theft
Nearly 158 million social security numbers were exposed in 2017, and the threat of identity theft has never been greater for you as a consumer. If you’re a victim of identity theft, here are 4 steps that you need to take right away to ensure a swift resolution to fraud.
Place a fraud alert on your credit profile (here’s the link). A fraud alert will notify the FTC and the credit reporting agencies that there is fraud on your account, requiring additional screening of any new credit inquiries.
Pull a consumer report from www.annualcreditreport.com to review your entire credit profile. Look for any new inquiries, accounts, name variations, and address changes. These are all signs of someone who is using your identity.
If there are fraudulent accounts opened on your credit profile in your name, you’ll need to file a police report. Your creditors will be more likely to cooperate with you on resolving fraud if there is a police report on file.
Send the police report and your identity theft affidavit to Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, and each creditor that is reporting a fraudulent account. You can find a copy of a theft affidavit here.
If you have questions about dealing with identity theft, or are looking for help resolving credit challenges, we’d be happy to help. You can schedule a free evaluation here.