Identity Theft 3 D’s: Defend
March 15, 2008
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Note: This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. Part 1 was Deter Identity Theft, and Part 2 was Detect Identity Theft.
Many people, even after taking many precautions and carefully monitoring, become identity theft victims. Here are steps to recover from identity theft if it happens to you.
Place a Fraud Alert and/or a Credit Freeze
The first thing you want to do is set up a fraud alert. There are two kinds but since you are an identity theft victim the one you are entitled to is the extended fraud alert which is good for seven years.
To set up a fraud alert, theoretically you are supposed to be able to just contact one of the three credit bureaus at www.equifax.com, www.experian.com, or www.transunion.com and they are supposed to contact the other two. However, to be safe you might as well contact all three just to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
A credit freeze may also be a good idea. What a credit freeze does is totally lock down your credit report to requests for new credit. In many states, a credit freeze is free for identity theft victims. Set one up by contacting each credit bureau and requesting it, or use an identity theft protection service like TrustedID.
Get Your Credit Report
Request your credit reports from the three credit bureaus. You’re entitled to one free copy from each. Go through them thoroughly and look for anything out of the ordinary.
File A Police Report
Many people don’t bother with this but I highly advise it. It will give you a lot more protection and credibility later.
File it with your local police department as well as, if applicable, the location where the theft occurred.
If your local department isn’t familiar with identity theft reports, the FTP has a cover letter which may help.
Start Repairing the Damage
If you find anything that you did not initiate, get it corrected by contacting each creditor as well as the relevant credit bureau(s). You’ll have the best luck if you do everything in writing via registered mail and have it accompanied by a police report. Keep track and record everything you do.
Don’t bother with the regular customer service number for each company, go straight to the fraud or security department.
Most companies will have a standard fraud dispute form that you will need to use to dispute each transaction.
Whatever you do, get every interaction with the creditors and the credit bureaus in writing. You will likely need it.
Can I Start Over?
Identity theft is such a hassle, you might be tempted to just get a new Social Security Number and start over. This is actually possible - if you request it the Social Security Administration will issue you a new one.
However, you want to think this one through. Doing this may mean that you have absolutely no credit history whatsoever, which might almost be as bad as the situation you are currently in.
Unless your identity theft situation is so absolutely egregious that it can’t be repaired, getting a new SSN is not recommended. The only case where it really makes sense is child identity theft, where the victim shouldn’t have a credit history anyways.
Do you have any questions or comments about the FTC’s 3 D’s of identity thet? Sound off in the comments.
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Posted in Child Identity Theft, Fraud Alert, Identity Theft, Identity Theft Recovery, TrustedID
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April 11th, 2008 at 6:00 am
[…] Remember that this is only for getting a debt collector to leave you alone. It will not actually remove the debt. For that, you want to take the steps to fix identity theft. […]