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Victim Of Identity Theft? Here Are 3 Steps That Can Help
Posted by Paul Wilcox in Online Security
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You have always prided yourself on meeting your financial obligations. Those obligations consisted of making credit card payments prior to their due date, having only a few credit cards, taking advantage of low interest rates because of your responsible actions, etc.
However, some recent actions have caught your attention and you are beginning to wonder if you have become a victim of identity theft. Those recent actions that have caused you to think this way have been phone calls from debt collectors, a credit card mailed to you that you did not request and being turned down for a revolving charge card because of delinquent payments.
These things may be pointing to the fact that you’ve become a victim of identity theft. If you think this may have happened, there are a couple of things that you need to do right away, such as notifying fraud departments, check your credit report and definitely report your situation to the police.
Reporting To Fraud Departments
If you’ve become an identity theft victim, the first thing you need to do is report it to the fraud department of the three credit bureaus. They are Experian, Equifax and Transunion. You can choose to report just to one of the bureaus as they will pass it on to the others so that they are all aware.
As soon as the credit bureau is notified of the identification theft, they will flag the accounts of the person. When accounts are flagged, the potential creditors will have to call the person applying for credit personally.
If you’ve reported your identity theft, as a victim you can expect your personal account to be flagged for 90 days. After the flagging you will be notified that this has been done and given a list of other rights for victims.
After you’ve received this information you can obtain a free copy of your credit report. It’s also strongly advised that you make a formal request to the three credit bureaus that your account be flagged form the usual 90 days to 7 years.
Check over your credit report closely to look for items that seem out of place. If you find questionable entries you should inform the credit bureaus of them. After reporting the fraudulent activity, the credit bureau is under no obligation to reveal it to others who are authorized to look at your personal credit report.
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