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What to do if Your Identity is StolenApr 05 '01 (Updated May 01 '01) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line If identity is stolen, report it quickly, and to all parties listed above, in order to avoid having to pay for the thief's crime yourself! If you lose (or get robbed of) your wallet/credit card/driver's license/etc., definitely call the organization that issued your cards, license, etc. Make it the first thing you do, in fact. However, you've got to make a few other calls, to protect yourself and to make sure the low-life scum that is bound to use your identity (whether they stole it or found it), can't get very far. You also want to protect yourself against the very real possibility of being chased down by creditors for money that your identity thief spent. You've got to call the police (or possibly visit them yourself) and file a stolen wallet report as quickly as possible. This is important, so that you can prove that the wallet was stolen, in the event that ripped-off creditors start hunting you down to be compensated. Make sure you keep a copy of the report, or some type of evidence that you filed one. Call all of the credit bureaus as soon as possible. The identity thief will try to get credit cards (especially store credit cards) issued in your name, so they can go out and spend on those. However, all credit inquiries go through at least one of the credit bureaus, so if they all know that someone is trying to use your identity for fraud, they will put a stop to it. I have conveniently listed their numbers for you below, so it will be extremely easy for you to do. Equifax: 800-525-6285 Experian: 888-397-3742 Transunion: 800-680-7289 When you call these numbers, ask to put a "fraud alert" on your account, which means no one will grant instant credit to anyone claiming to be you (including you), unless they call you at your home number and you verify it first. The people at the credit bureaus can explain the exact implications of doing this, so ask them to tell you about it first and follow their instructions as to how to proceed. In fact, it is not a bad idea to put a fraud alert on your account, even if your identity hasn't been stolen. It will make stealing your identity much less productive if it ever does happen. Keep records of the confirmation numbers they give you for the fraud alert, and keep this information with your police report record. A few other numbers you can call are: Social Security fraud hotline at 800-269-0271, but they're only open M-F 10-4 EST. The recording on the Social Security fraud hotline also said to also call the FTC Identity Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338. After some time (and probably annually), you should contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to get a report of your taxable income. Believe it or not, some of the people stealing identities and social security numbers actually work under those social security numbers or sell your information to immigrants to work under. It is critical that you find out about this (and one way to do it is through the SSA. The government does not investigate tax reporting and tax payments coming in from two different places and obviously two different people under the same social security number, although that is a clear indication that something is terribly wrong. Just to add some urgency to the situation, you should find out about this particular type of fraud as soon as possible, because if they're working under your identity, they're likely to be taking out loans and mortgages under it as well.  |
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