What to Do if Your Identity is Stolen

Discovering you have become a victim of identity theft is devastating -- to your finances, credit rating, and emotional state of well-being.  However, it is very important to act quickly once you become aware of fraudulent activity.  The first thing to remember throughout the process of trying to correct the damage being done: document everything -- names of people you talk to, dates and times you spoke with them, summaries of your discussions, agreed-upon actions to be taken, etc.  Once you prepare yourself, contact these people:

Police
File an identity theft complaint with your local police department.  You will need an official police report in order to demonstrate to others that a crime has been committed;

Federal Trade Commission
You must also file an FTC fraud affidavit.  For additional help, visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft or call 800-438-4338/800-ID-THEFT;

Post Office
If the fraud involved the mail, contact you local post office, so they can trace where the criminals are diverting your mail; 

Department of Motor Vehicles
If your driver license was stolen, run to the DMV and get a new license and number -- at least then your stolen license will show as invalid if anyone tries to use it; 

Credit Bureaus
You must contact the fraud divisions for all three credit bureaus (Experian: www.experian.com or 888-397-3742; Equifax: www.equifax.com or 800-525-6285; and TransUnion: www.transunion.com or 800-680-7289).  Arrange for "fraud alerts" to be placed on your accounts.  Ask for a free copy of your credit report (to which you are legally entitled) from each bureau.  Once you read your reports, send dispute letters relating to any fraudulent activity, along with your police report and FTC fraud affidavit, to the credit bureaus.  Request contact information from each bureau for creditors with whom fraudulent activity has been detected.  Put a "Security Freeze" on all three of your credit reports.  Finally, subscribe to a credit monitoring service, such as SpendOnLife.com.  Should new fraudulent activity surface, you can quickly discover and dispute it;

Creditors (new and existing accounts)
You should also send your police report and fraud affidavit to your creditors.  Request they send you records documenting any fraud on your affected accounts, including applications and transaction data.  Be sure to obtain replacement credit cards and numbers.  Tell the creditor to put "accounts closed at customer's request," not "lost or stolen," on your credit report.  Last, ask creditors to put security passwords on your accounts, to prevent further damage;

Debt Collectors
Sometimes when ID thieves strike, the damage can become quite severe before you even detect the problem.  If you have accounts that have gone to collections due to identity theft, you should proceed with caution.  Always document the name, date and time for each person with whom you speak -- and inform them you are keeping a log.  After telling them you are an ID theft victim, ask for the name and contact information of the original credit issuer -- offer to provide your police report and FTC fraud affidavit.  Next, write a letter to the original creditor, stating you do not owe the debt, and you claim the account is fraudulent.  Ask for written confirmation that the account is being closed and noted as fraudulent, and that any and all references to the debt will be removed from your credit report.  And don't give in to harassment for payment on any fraudulent accounts.  You are never required to pay for a debt which you did not incur;

Banks
If personal checks were part of the ID thief's repertoire, make sure to put a "stop payment" on them.  Tell the bank about the fraud, cancel your checking and savings accounts, and get new account numbers.  Put a security password on your accounts, too.  And don't forget to cancel your ATM cards and change you PIN.  Last, notify the check-verification companies, such as TeleCheck (www.telecheck.com or 800-710-9898) or Certegyy/Equifax (www.certegy.com or 800-437-5120), about the fraudulent activity.

Be aware, contacting all these people takes time -- a lot of time.  Be patient.  It can take years to sift through all the debris left in the wake of identity theft.  For additional resources, contact Victims Assistance of America.  With consistent, diligent effort, you can survive ID theft and restore your good name.