Recovering from Identity Theft

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible. It is important that you keep a record with the details of your conversations, such as who you spoke to and what the agreed upon resolution was, as well as copies of all correspondence.

  1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports.

    Fraud alerts can help prevent more damage from occurring, by preventing an identity thief from opening more accounts in your name. There are two types of fraud alerts, an initial alert and an extended alert.

    An initial alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. This type of alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you’ve been notified that your personal information may have been exposed by a company with whom you do business. When you place the initial alert, you are also entitled to one free credit report from each of the three consumer reporting agencies.

    An extended alert stays on your credit for seven years. You can have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you’ve been a victim of identity theft and you provide the consumer reporting agency with an identity theft report. The identity theft report may have two parts. The first part is a copy of a report filed with a local, state or federal law enforcement agency. The second part of the report will depend on the policies of the consumer reporting agency and the business that sent the inaccurate information to the consumer reporting agency. The request for this information must be made within 15 days of receiving the report of identity theft. The consumer reporting agency and the business that sent the inaccurate information then have 15 days to work with you to make sure they have everything they need in the second part of the identity theft report. When you place an extended alert on your credit report, you are entitled to two free credit reports within 12 months from each of the three consumer reporting agencies.

    An identity theft report can provide you some protections. First, it can be used to permanently block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report. Second, it can ensure that debts do not reappear on your credit report. Third, it can prevent a company from continuing to collect debts that result from identity theft. Finally, it can be used to place an extended fraud alert on your credit file.

    It is important to note what a fraud alert will not do so that you can take any additional steps that are necessary. First, it will not protect you from an identity thief using your existing credit cards or other accounts. Second, it will not protect you from an identity thief opening new accounts in your name that do not require a credit check, such as telephone, wireless or bank accounts. Finally, if there is identity theft already going on when you place the fraud alert, the alert alone will not stop it.

    To place a fraud alert on your credit file, you only need to contact one of the three consumer reporting agencies as they are required to contact the other consumer reporting agencies:

    • TransUnion
      1-800-680-7289
      Fraud Victim Assistance Division
      P.O. Box 6790
      Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
    • Equifax
      1-800-525-6285
      P.O. Box 740241
      Atlanta, GA 30376-0241
    • Experian
      1-888-EXPERIAN
      P.O. Box 9532
      Allen, TX 75013

  2. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

    To expedite the process of closing your accounts, call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department. Follow up on these requests in writing. Include copies, not originals, of supporting documents. Send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested so that you can document what the company received and when. Keep the correspondence and enclosures for future reference.

    When you open new accounts, create a personal identification number or password to further protect the new account. See Preventing Identity Theft for specific information on creating secure passwords. If the identity thief has made charges or debits on existing accounts, ask the representative for the fraud dispute forms.

    If the company does not have specific forms, send them a dispute letter that explains the charges you are disputing as well as a copy of your identity theft report.

    For new unauthorized accounts, you can either file a dispute directly with the company or file a report with the police and provide a copy of the identity theft report to the company. Filing a report with the police and then providing the company with a copy of the identity theft report will give you greater protection. See the Additional Resources section for the Federal Trade Commission’s site on Recovering from Identity Theft, which includes more detailed information on what should be included in these requests and what to do if the police won’t take a report.

    Once the complaint has been resolved with the company, request a letter stating that the company has closed the disputed accounts and has discharged the fraudulent debts. This letter is the best proof if errors relating to this account resurface on your credit report or if you are contacted again about fraudulent debt.

  3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

    To file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, call the Identity Theft hotline (1-877-ID-THEFT) or file an online complaint. The online complaint form is provided in Additional Resources.

    By sharing your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, you can provide a printed copy of your online Complaint to the police to incorporate into their police report. The printed Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Complaint in conjunction with the police report can constitute an identity theft report and entitle you to the protections outlined earlier.

  4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

    Call your local police department and tell them that you want to file a report about your identity theft. Ask them if you can file the report in person. If you cannot file in person, ask if you can file a report over the Internet or phone. See the Additional Resources section for the Federal Trade Commission’s site on Recovering from Identity Theft, which includes more detailed information on how documentation should be handled if you are not able to file a police report in person.

    When you go to your local police department to file your report, bring a copy of the complaint form obtained from the Federal Trade Commission and your supporting documentation. Ask the officer to incorporate the ID theft complaint into their police report. Tell them that you need a copy of the identity theft report, which is the police report with your identity theft complaint attached or incorporated, in order to dispute the fraudulent accounts and debts created by the identity thief. If they are not able to give you a copy of the report, ask that they sign the identity theft complaint and write the police report number in the “Law Enforcement Report” section on the printed complaint.

    After taking these steps, it is important that you continue to monitor your accounts to catch other identity theft crimes that may take place now that your personal information has been compromised. For more information on monitoring see Detecting Identity Theft.

*These pages were compiled using information provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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