What To Do if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft

Don’t waste any time in reacting in the interest of your good name or credit. 

Victims of identity theft usually never regain the life they had before the crime was committed against them. The effects of identity theft will turn your entire world upside down. It can destroy you whole family’s life and cost you everything, including your job.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to stop or prevent identity theft crimes.  

All you can do to guard against becoming a statistical victim of identity theft is closely watch your credit reports and stay on the alert of suspicious activity. Beware of people offering help when it comes to your finances. Keep detailed notes on everything.

The steps of reporting identity theft: 

1. Report your stolen pieces of ID immediately. 
2. • Call the Department of Motor Vehicles about your Driver’s License.
   • Call the Social Security Administration about your number or card.
   • Call all of your credit card banks and put out the fraud alerts.
   • Call your bank and tell them to close all of your accounts and open new ones under new numbers. (Perhaps with addresses to P.O. Boxes.)

2. Call the police and you will need the official police report.

3. Call one credit bureau and report the event, place an instant freeze on your credit record. You only need to call one bureau.

4. Place a hold on all of your mail with the Post Office. This may make perfect sense; you have no idea what could actually be being intercepted in your own mailbox.

5. Get all your credit reports and study them line-by-line. Chances are if you had been monitoring them regularly, the thief may not yet have done much damage to your credit.

6. Notify the Federal Trade Commission.  

7. Notify all your service providers for Internet, TV, telephone and cell phones as well as utility companies to ward off more accounts being opened in your name.

One thing you don’t want overlook while standing guard over your identity is mail. 

A holiday will only delay the inevitable demand for payment for a day or two. Any bills or statements that come up missing from your mail should be reported to the Postal Inspection Service immediately as well as to your local postmaster.

Report any other type of tampering with your mail after it is left in your mailbox. Envelopes damaged in transit usually are left sealed inside a clear plastic envelope with a message from the USPS sorting center. You will want to place the report with both of the previous offices.

Some forms of identity theft should be reported to the FBI. 

Victims of identity theft suffer charges that fall under federal and international law. White-collar crimes, cyber crimes and government fraud all fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI. To get detailed information on what victims of identity theft should contact this agency, visit the FBI Criminal Priorities site.