What to do if You Become a Victim of Identity Theft
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1) Place a “fraud alert” on your credit report. Contact these three major credit bureaus to report the fraud and obtain free credit reports:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
2) Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. If you’re closing existing accounts and opening new ones, use a new PIN and passwords.
3) If your checks have been stolen or misused, close the account and ask your bank to notify the appropriate check verification service.
4) Call SCAN (1-800-262-7771) to find out if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name.
5) File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the ID theft took place.
6) Keep a copy of the report if you need to validate your claims with creditors. If you can’t get a copy, get the report number.
7) File a complaint with the FTC. Visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ or call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) or write the Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.