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What to do if you have been hit by Identity Theft-advice

Submitted by kalevala316 on Wed, 04/05/2006 - 10:31
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Hello everyone,

ID theft is very time consuming to overcome but here are a few steps to take to get back on track.

1. Call your local Social Security Administration office and report that our Identity has been stolen.
2. Call, email or write ALL 3 Credit bureaus requesting that they indicate on your report that your Identity has been stolen
3. Call the FTC and report what happened. If you already have businesses that have not confirmed that the actual borrower was you then you have a complaint to work with.
4. If you have proof- call your local police department and have them issue a case number related to the theft.

In some cases the Social Security Admin will help you in obtaining a new SSN #- be careful with this though as you may incounter problems in the future with your SS benefits.
Take the time to dispute anything that shows on your credit report involved with the theft as well as disputing with the creditors.
Get the file number from the FTC so that you can keep tabs on and add to the file as things come up.
Once you get a case number from the police do not hesitate taking anyone to court that you know has stolen your identity.
Keep accurate records for yourself and all agencies you are dealing with. (this will help mainly with the Social Security admin, police and court)

Although this is very time consuming it is well worth it in the end.


If you have been hit by identity theft, the first thing you should do is to file a complaint with your local police station. Provide them proof and inform them of the necessary information such as when it started, what establishments are involved, etc. You should then call your banks, inform them of your situation, ask them to temporarily freeze your accounts and request for new card numbers. You should also call the three credit bureaus and request for a fraud alert on your report. Having a fraud alert will disable the thief from using your identity because the establishments in which he chooses to use your identity in will be required to ask for verification. Lastly, make a conscious effort to prevent identity theft from happening again by conducting annual credit checks. Annual credit checks are helpful in so many ways. Read about them on this post ADVERTISING LINK REMOVED PER TOS.


Submitted by Amy on Sun, 02/03/2013 - 20:37

Amy

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