What to do if you are a Victim of Identity Theft

You’ve been careful with your personal information, you’ve followed the advice of experts, and you’ve even purchased credit alert protection but, in spite of thi,s someone stole your identity.

The first thing to do is remain calm. Gather all the facts while making a plan of action. Depending upon the circumstances, identity theft can be solved quickly or it may take years of aggravating, hard work.

Consumers today are flooded, on line and in their mail boxes, with offers to protect their credit. Most of these are legitimate but some are not. Often the first warning that someone has used your identity is when a company reports a new account has been opened or a new purchase has been made. Waiting until the bill arrives could take weeks - giving the thief more opportunities to make fraudulent purchases.

If you’re thinking about purchasing identity theft protection, shop the various plans, compare the price and benefits, then decide which product best meets your needs.

Individuals with credit protection plans usually have to make only one phone call, to the company providing the coverage. That company notifies the credit bureaus and creditors involved. After the initial calls are made, you have to sign statements/forms regarding what happened. Most companies turn fraudulent charges over to investigative personnel. Depending upon the amount, you might have to appear in court to testify, or even file formal charges with the proper authorities.

Individuals not having credit protection do the initial leg work. It’s essential that you contact the three major credit bureaus. They will put a statement on your credit report notifying others that you are the victim of identity theft. Any new creditors are required by law to contact you before extending new credit. Once this is done, you need to contact the companies involved asking them to cancel the credit card, stop the service, or do whatever is necessary to recover the goods and collect payment from the perpetrator. The important thing is to follow their instructions. Usually you will not be responsible for payment but you have to sometimes prove your own identity as well as complete all paperwork/steps required by the companies involved.

If there’s a lot of money stolen you might have to contact an attorney. Individuals tend to get angry when asked to spend their money and time defending fraudulent charges. But in the long run this can make your life easier while helping you reclaim or restore your identity. Sometimes drastic measures are required such as getting a post office box, new drivers license and new credit cards. If the theft was on line it is more difficult to trace. You’d want to cancel all existing credit card numbers, create new usernames and passwords, and close any suspicious on line accounts.

It’s never fun or easy when you’re the victim of identity theft. But you can’t sit back and just let it happen. It’s your identity, do all you can to protect it.

Margaret Norton, a Personal Life Coach/Writer/Speaker, resides in St. Peters, MO.

(photo credit: angelinawb)

April 7th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Legal Rights | (0)