How to Deal With a Forgery

Identity theft is more popular now than ever before and people who thought they were immune to it are finding themselves dealing with being a victim of a forgery. It's difficult knowing that someone else is forging your signature, likeness and history, but there are steps that can be taken to deal with it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Buy a shredder. Prevention is key to dealing with forgery. If you shred any documents that have personal information especially checks and credit cards, the less chance you have of someone forging your name and identity.
2. Protect yourself from potential forgers by collecting your mail as soon as possible, checking your bank statements each month and asking to use technology that takes a thumbprint when writing a check.
3. Contact the police to file a report if you've been a victim of forgery so you can have the report on file to deal with the aftermath of forgery.
4. Notify your bank that you have been victimized, fill out the affidavit of forgery for each incident that you have found and have your account closed as soon as possible to prevent any further forgeries.
5. Call the credit bureau and all of your creditors that have been affected by the forgery. They will need a copy of the affidavit you filed with the bank. Keep one copy for your own personal records as well.
6. Ask a police officer to visit you if you have found that someone has given you a check that has come back as a forgery. They will assist you in filing a police report and turn the check over to the jurisdiction where the forgery took place so they can deal with it.