It’s sad to say, but there’s a good chance you’ve fallen victim to at least some form of identity theft. Why do we say that? Well, an estimated 13 million consumers fell victim to it in 2015, according to Javelin Strategy and Research. And the company pegged about 12.7 million victims the year before that.
As you may have heard our founder and identity theft expert Adam Levin say, identity theft has become almost a third certainty in life. And, while there are steps you can take to minimize your odds of winding up among those 13 million people, there’s nothing you can do (short of maybe going off the grid) to guarantee you’re never a victim of stolen identity. There is, however, plenty you can do to minimize the damage after that crime has taken place.
What Do I Do About My Stolen Identity?
If you’ve been hit by identity theft, it’s important that you act immediately to prevent further damage to your finances. Here’s what to do.
1. Get On the Phone
Call the bank, lender, card company, utility or merchant with whom you have the affected account. Fast action stops thieves from racking up more charges in your name.
2. Write Down Everything
Grab a notebook. Log every call and contact you make. Note the date, time and length of the call, who you spoke with, what you said and what they said. File copies of documents. Use certified mail for all letters.
3. Find Allies & Resources
Call your insurance agent, bank or credit union and the human resources department at work to ask what access you may have to free or low-cost damage-control programs for identity theft victims.
4. Reset Your Passwords
Make your passwords strong, which means they should include upper- and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols. They also shouldn’t be anything easy to guess: like 12345 or your dog’s name and birthdate.
5. Consider a ‘Security Freeze’
This denies access to your credit to all but your current creditors and helps prevent new account fraud. It’s not always recommended — the freeze also prevents you from authorizing a lender to pull your credit without “thawing” or using a PIN. You can learn more about the pros and cons of credit freezes.
6. Monitor Your Credit
Order your free credit reports. Get a report each from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. (As a fraud victim, you are entitled to these reports in addition to your free annual credit reports.) Comb them for errors and follow each company’s instructions for disputing an error.
If you want help monitoring your credit, subscribe to a free service, like Credit.com’s free credit report snapshot, which provides two free credit scores. Falling credit scores, among other things, can alert you to fraudulent activity.
7. Make a Police Report
Call the police. Even if they can’t catch the thieves immediately, reporting the crime could help make a case against the thieves down the line. And you may need a police report to prove that charges made in your name are not yours to your creditors and the credit bureaus. You can also file a complaint with the FBI.
8. Dial 877-438-4338
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) makes identity theft a priority. While it doesn’t investigate individual cases, it collects information on crimes and helps police in their investigations.
9. Be Patient
It might be tough to hear when you’re the stressed-out victim of identity theft, but resolving this problem could take some time and work on your part. Take a big breath once in awhile and keep forging ahead. You’ll want to do your due diligence to mitigate an identity thief’s attack.
This article has been updated. It originally ran on December 5, 2013.
