Victims
of Identity Theft: What Next?
Each year, millions of
citizens in the United States are victims of identity theft. When tallying up the losses suffered by
consumers, insurance companies and financial institutions, the numbers are
staggering. After obtaining someone else's
personal information, identity thieves have the ability to withdraw money from
their bank accounts, open up new credit lines, and conduct other financial
transactions in the victim's name.
Because of the stealth nature of this crime, a victim may not realize
that their identity has been stolen until finding themselves in a world of
debt. After being victimized, restoring one's credit is a process that can take
months or years to complete.
Identity theft often
cripples medical insurance consumers as well.
This is because insurance companies will often use a person's credit
score to determine whether or not the applicant will be accepted or how to set
rates. What makes this even more
troubling is the fact that identity thieves will also steal information to file
fraudulent claims and receive medical benefits in someone else's name.
Warning Signs
When the malicious crime
of identity theft is suspected, it is important to act quickly. The faster you respond, the faster you will
be able to restore your life. First you
must be able to recognize when this crime has occurred. In order to do so, you should take note of
the following warning signs:
• -
You begin to receive bills from credit card
accounts you did not open
•
-You observe unauthorized charges on your bank
statements, medical or credit card bills
•
-You are contacted by institutions and collection
agencies concerning purchases you did not make
• -
You are denied for insurance or loans due to
unexplained debt on your credit report
•
-An institution you do business with notifies you
that your personal information has been fraudulently obtained or inadvertently
disclosed to someone else
What to
Do About Identity Theft
If you are
certain that someone has used your information to commit identity theft, you
should immediately follow these next steps:
•
-File a police report with your local police
department. Many banking institutions
and credit card agencies will require this documentation to acknowledge that
the crime has occurred.
•
-Contact the major credit reporting bureaus to
have freezes or security alerts assigned to your individual report.
-Request a copy of your credit report and review
the document for suspicious activity.
•
-Report any authorized charges from credit and
bank accounts to the appropriate institution.
•
-Cancel any accounts that have been compromised.
Upon
reporting fraud to one of the major credit bureaus, your report will be
automatically forwarded to the other two agencies. Each of them will then place a fraud alert on
your credit report and send you a copy for review. It is very important that you review your
credit report on an annual basis to search for unauthorized activity.
You can
contact the major credit reporting bureaus by referring to the information
below:
Equifax
P.O. Box
740241
At, GA
30374-0241
(800)
685-1111 - request report
(800)
525-6285 - report fraud
Experian
P.O. Box
2104
Allen,
TX 75013-2104
(888)
397-3742
Trans
Union
P.O. Box
2000
Chester, PA
19022-2000
(800)
888-4213 - request report
(800)
680-7289 - report fraud
