If You Become a Victim of Identity Theft
If you believe that someone has stolen your
identity, you should:
Contact the fraud department of each of
the three major credit bureaus to report the
identity theft and request that the credit
bureaus place a fraud alert and a victims
statement in your file. The fraud alert puts
creditors on notice that you have been the
victim of fraud, and the victims statement
asks them not to open additional accounts
without first contacting you.
The following are the telephone numbers
for the fraud departments of the three
national credit bureaus:
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289;
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285;
Experian: 1-888-397-3742.
You may request a free copy of your credit
report. Credit bureaus must provide a free
copy of your report, if you have reason to
believe the report is inaccurate because of
fraud and you submit a request in writing.
Review your report to make sure no
additional fraudulent accounts have been
opened in your name, or unauthorized
changes made to your existing accounts.
Also, check the section of your report that
lists inquiries and request that any
inquiries from companies that opened the
fraudulent accounts be removed.
Contact any bank or other creditor
where you have an account that you
think may be the subject of identity
theft. Advise them of the identity theft.
Request that they restrict access to your
account, change your account password,
or close your account, if there is evidence
that your account has been the target of
criminal activity. If your bank closes your
account, ask them to issue you a new credit
card, ATM card, debit card, or checks,
as appropriate.
File a report with your local police
department.
Contact the FTCs Identity Theft Hotline
toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338).
The FTC puts the information into a secure
consumer fraud database and shares it
with local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies.
Comptroller of the Currency
Administrator of National Banks
How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of
Identity Theft
What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft is the fraudulent use of a
persons personal identifying information.
Often, identity thieves will use another
persons personal information, such as a social
security number, mothers maiden name, date
of birth, or account number to open fraudulent
new credit card accounts, charge existing credit
card accounts, write checks, open bank
accounts, or obtain new loans. They may
obtain this information by:
Stealing wallets that contain personal
identification information and credit cards.
Stealing bank statements from the mail.
Diverting mail from its intended recipients
by submitting a change of address form.
Rummaging through trash for personal data.
Stealing personal identification information
from workplace records.
Intercepting or otherwise obtaining
information transmitted electronically.
Pretext calling is a fraudulent means of
obtaining a persons personal information.
Pretext callers may contact bank employees,
posing as customers, to access customers
personal account information. Information
obtained from pretext calling may be sold to
debt collection services, attorneys, and private
investigators to use in court proceedings.
Identity thieves may also engage in pretext
calling to obtain personal information to create
fraudulent accounts.
Here are a few basic steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and pretext calling:
Do not give personal information, such as
account numbers or social security numbers,
over the telephone, through the mail, or over
the Internet, unless you initiated the contact
or know with whom you are dealing.
Store personal information in a safe place
and tear up old credit card receipts, ATM
receipts, old account statements, and unused
credit card offers before throwing them
away.
Protect your PINs and other passwords.
Avoid using easily available information,
such as your mothers maiden name, your
birth date, the last four digits of your social
security number, your phone number, etc.
Carry only the minimum amount of
identifying information and number of
credit cards that you need.
Pay attention to billing cycles and
statements. Inquire of the bank, if
you do not receive a monthly bill. It
may mean that the bill has been diverted
by an identity thief.
Check account statements carefully to
ensure all charges, checks, or withdrawals
were authorized.
Guard your mail from theft. If you have
the type of mailbox with a flag to signal that
the box contains mail, do not leave bill
payment envelopes in your mailbox with
the flag up. Instead, deposit them in a post
office collection box or at the local post
office. Promptly remove incoming mail.
Order copies of your credit report from
each of the three major credit bureaus once
a year to ensure that they are accurate. The
law permits the credit bureaus to charge
$8.50 for a copy of the report (unless you
live in a state that requires the credit bureaus
to provide you with one free copy of your
report annually).
If you prefer not to receive preapproved
offers of credit, you can opt out of such
offers by calling (888) 5 OPT OUT.
If you want to remove your name from
many national direct mail lists, send your
name and address to:
DMA Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 9008
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008
If you want to reduce the number of
telephone solicitations from many national
marketers, send your name, address, and
telephone number to:
DMA Telephone Preference Service
P.O. Box 9014
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014
