What Actions To Take When Your Identity Is Stolen
A person getting his or her identity stolen is not new as it happens every day but what actions do you take to remedy the problem if it occurs.
When you learn that your identity has been stolen:
Close the accounts that were tampered with or opened fraudulently -
Contact the Fraud Department of each company and follow up in writing with copies of supporting documents to support your identity being stolen. Notifying the appropriate entity in writing is important to support the actions needed. Send your letters by certified mail (return receipt requested) so you can document what and when the company received. Retain a copy of all correspondence and documentation for your personal reference.
When you establish a new account somewhere, change your Personal Identification Number and Passwords to something not easily available. Do not use your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security # or your phone number. Use different identifiers if possible (*, &, @ or #) as well as upper case letters.
If fraudulent transactions occurred on your accounts, request the appropriate forms from each company to dispute these transactions.
Review your credit reports and place a fraud alert on them -
Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit reports. By contacting one of these companies, they are then required to contact the other two, who will place an alert on their versions of your report.
By creating a fraud alert on your credit reports, the fraudster will be prevented from opening any more accounts in your name.
Remember, each person is entitled to order one free copy of their credit report from each of the three consumer reporting companies. Once received, review your credit report carefully and look for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open or debts on your accounts that you can't explain. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, take appropriate action to get them removed.
Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission
File a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form; or call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338), or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
The printed FTC ID Theft Complaint, along with the police report, can constitute an Identity Theft Report and entitle you to certain protections.
File a report with your local police in the community where the identity theft took place -
Call your local police department and tell them that you want to file a report about your identity theft. The police may request a copy of the FTC ID Theft Complaint form and any communication or
documentation that supports the theft. Send this to them or deliver to their office.
Request that the police attach or incorporate the ID Theft Complaint into their police report as you may need this to dispute the fraudulent accounts and debts created by the identity thief.
Allied Solutions provides an excellent program to address ID Theft including mitigation services to assist CU members who have experienced the theft of their identity. Please call Traci Mottweiler at 1-800-826-9384 (Ext. 10469) for more information.
Jay A. Slagel, Vice President - Risk Management / Claims
Cell Phone: 608-213-2816
jay.slagel@alliedsolutions.net |
