If you ask the question, “My identity was stolen, what do I do?” then this post can help. I will go over some of the basic things you should do to minimize the impact of a stolen identity on your financial life.
I will also go over some simple things you can do to spot identity theft as early as possible. The sooner the theft is detected, the more you can do to keep the damage to a minimum. And the better off you will be in the long run.
So, here are the steps to take that will allow you to spot trouble right away:
You are legally allowed one free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year. If you spread out when you get the report to one from one bureau every four months or so, you can spread it out for a year. This way, every quarter, you review your credit report from at least one of the three credit bureaus. To get your free report, visit the Annual Credit Report.
This is a great tactic and will enable you to watch your reports throughout the year.
Remember, though, that not all reports will have the same information. If you spot anything that doesn’t look right, contact that particular bureau as soon as possible. This could be the first sign that someone has stolen your identity. And if you notify one bureau of suspected fraud, they will report it to the others.
If you have some credit cards that are getting close to expiring, but you haven’t received your new ones yet, this could be a sign that someone has stolen the new cards. It’s not uncommon for them to take them right out of your mailbox.
If this happens, contact the credit card company immediately. Also, carefully read over all your credit card statements every month. If you see any unusual transactions, contact the company right away. Provided your card charged was not a bank link debit card, your liability is limited.
If you receive a letter from the post office, read it. Please don’t ignore it. The post office will contact you at the address they have for you to notify you that someone has requested a change of address.
This is a common ploy used by thieves: they will redirect your mail to themselves so they can search through your mail at their leisure.
If you spot any of these issues, it’s a good bet someone may have stolen your identity and is trying to cash in. If that happens, or if your wallet is lost, do the following right away:
Contact all three credit bureaus and explain what has happened. Tell them you want a fraud report attached to your credit report. That way, the thieves can’t open new lines of credit in your name.
Next, contact your bank and all the companies you have credit with. Tell them what has happened so they can monitor your accounts accordingly.
Another common tactic is that the thieves will add themselves to your account, then once they are listed as one of the account holders, they will clean you out.
Contact your local police department as well as the FBI. You want to file a report and establish a timeline, and this will help protect you from the damage the thieves do.
These are all just very basic steps. Your local law enforcement agency, bank, or credit bureau may have more information and do what they tell you to do.
Also, make sure you keep careful and detailed records of every step. Hopefully, these tips will answer the question, “My identity was stolen. What do I do?”
And one final step, to prevent someone from opening an account in your name, take the proactive step and put a credit freeze on all three credit bureaus. This way, no one can even open an account with your identity, and you can avoid some of these issues. For more on credit free, visit our previous post HERE.
For more information on this and other financial issues, please contact me directly if you are in or near the Metro-Nashville area. Don’t hesitate to contact a fee-only Registered Financial Consultant near you for those outside of Tennessee.
