What should I do if my identity is stolen?

If you become a victim of identity theft, or even suspect that you may be a victim, it is important to take immediate action.

Steps to Take If You Are a Victim of Identity Theft
1	Contact one of the credit reporting agencies' fraud alert departments and place a fraud alert on your credit report. This prevents identity thieves from opening accounts in your name. To place the alert, call the toll-free fraud number for one of the credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Tell the agency you think your identity has been stolen. The agency will ask you to verify your identity with your Social Security number, name, address, and possibly other personal information. One call does it all. The credit reporting agency you contacted must contact the other two. Each agency will place an alert on their version of your report. For the next 90 days, businesses will see the alert on your credit report. If anyone asks for credit in your name, the appropriate lender will contact you to verify your identity and find out if you asked for credit.
2	Contact your lenders, banks, and insurance companies and let them know the situation. Ask to close accounts. Open new ones with new personal identification numbers (PINs) and passwords.
3	Victims of identity theft are entitled to a free credit report. Wait about a month before you request it. Some activity may take a while to show up on your report. When you get it look for: • Personal information that has changed: your name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, and employer • Inquiries from companies you didn’t contact • Accounts you didn’t open
4	Debts on your accounts you can’t explain
5	File a police report—it is proof of the crime. If the credit reporting agencies need to investigate fraudulent activity on your report, they will need this police report.
6	Continue to check your credit reports periodically over the next year to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.
7	Work with the credit reporting agencies to remove fraudulent activities from your credit report.
8	Work with lenders to reverse fraudulent charges to your credit card.

Resources to learn more about identity theft:
Federal Trade Commission www.consumer.gov/idtheft 1-877-382-4357 (877-FTC-HELP)	Identity Theft Resource Center www.IDTheftCenter.org 1-858-693-7935	Privacy Rights Clearinghouse www.privacyrights.org 1-619-298-3396