Reporting Procedures for Identity Theft
When you find out that your identity has been stolen, your first response is outrage. Next, you wonder what you are supposed to do to stop this. Then, you wonder how you are going to put a stop to any additional fraudulent accounts or charges in your name. You must do everything in order so that you can stop the person from ruining your credit and your life.
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Law Enforcement
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Report the identity theft to your local police department. It is possible that you will have to report it to the police department where the criminal resides if that is where the theft actually occurred. Police departments will work together so it makes it easier for you to make the reports and stay on top of the investigation.
Credit Bureaus
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Look at all three of your credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to see all of the activity that has occurred with your identity and inform each agency of the fraud. Place a fraud alert on your account and set up a formal communication with the agencies before any additional credit can be approved. Each agency will help you set up a fraud alert and guide you as to the next steps.
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Federal Trade Commission
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Contact the Federal Trade Commission and give them your police report number. The agency shares information with law enforcement agencies around the country to try to find the criminal. Contact the FTC at (877)-438-4338 or online at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Contact Debt Holders
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If you have a list of creditors that are listed in your name and they are not your accounts, you should contact each company and inform them of what is happening so that they can close the accounts and work with law enforcement to find the person responsible for stealing your identity.
Postal Service
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Notify the U.S. Postal Service if any type of identity theft occurred through the mail. You can file an online compliant at postalinspectors.uspis.gov and it will be investigated. You will need to know the address of the fraudulent credit cards to file a complaint and have the postal service direct all mail in your name to your home address.
Secret Service
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The Secret Service department usually does not get involved in identity theft complaints unless the fraudulent accounts have accounted for high amounts of money. If you want to have the Secret Service involved, you can ask the companies that hold debts that were created in your name by someone else to contact the agency or ask the police department if they would report it to the agency.
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