Victim of Identity Theft? - Three Actions to Take Immediately

As a responsible adult individual, you usually keep on top of your finances. You take advantage of the various low percentage (or even zero percentage) interest rates available on credit cards and make your payments by the due date as shown on your statement.

However, some recent occurrences have caught your attention and made you think it is possible you have become a victim of identity theft.

The phone calls from debt collectors, a request for credit being turned down or the receipt of a new credit card which you have not applied for should all send out warning signals that something is amiss. The first thing you should do is take immediate action by checking your credit report, and then notifying the relevant fraud departments and law enforcement agencies of anything you know to be incorrect.

Report To the Fraud Departments

Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the three credit bureaus to whom you should report the possibility of fraud victimisation. Although each bureau will pass the information on to the others as a matter of course, it is wise to report to all three bureaus personally. Your account will then be flagged by the credit bureaus which means that potential creditors will be required to make a telephone call to the person actually applying for credit. The flagging will normally last for 90 days and you will be notified of additional rights afforded you are entitled to. A free copy of your credit report can then be requested. In addition, it is strongly recommended that you formally ask the three bureaus to extend the time for the flagging of the account from ninety days to seven years.

Upon receiving the credit report it is essential for you to thoroughly check whether any fraudulent activity has occurred. If indeed fraud has been committed, you should inform the credit bureaus in writing and at this point the credit bureaus are obligated under the law to suppress the reflection of this fraudulent activity to other parties authorized to look at the personal credit report.

Report to the Law Enforcement Officials

As well as reporting identity theft to the credit bureaus, it is important to pass this information on to the Law Enforcement Officials. They will in turn file an official report. It is necessary for victims of identity theft to review the police report and make sure that full details of the fraudulent events are listed.

Take Responsibility For Your Own Continual Protection

Finally, it is essential for all victims of identity theft to take continued responsibility for their own protection. Credit reports should be checked within a few months of the filing of the initial fraudulent offence and followed up with frequent checks therein after. Monthly alerts reflecting any activity associated with the three credit bureaus are also available upon request.

The bottom line today is that you need to protect yourself and your loved ones from identity theft. Bookmark blogs on this topic like at LifeLockblog.com and keep up with identity theft updates by subscribing to the blog’s posts and comments.