What To Do If You Think Your Identity Has Been Stolen

Identity theft recovery

What to do if you suspect your identity has been stolen.

The internet has brought a world of convenience to our lives. But it also has the potential to expose our precious data to a universe of fraudsters and identity thieves.

In 2014, tracked U.S. organizational data breaches hit a record high of 783, which means that millions of customers who did business with those companies potentially had their data compromised. That's a 27.5% increase over the breaches reported in 2013, and a big jump over the previous high of 662 in 2010.¹ While breaches at mass retailers, banks and insurance firms have made the biggest headlines, cyber crooks have also targeted health care providers, grocery stores and restaurants.

In short, it's perfectly normal to worry about the safety of your valuable information. Identity thieves can destroy your credit, make off with your tax refund and drain your bank account.

So what should you do if you suspect you're a victim? Act quickly and decisively. Here's a checklist of whom to contact and steps to take.

Banks and credit card issuers

Credit card or checkbook lost? Report it promptly. Take measures today to know exactly what's in your wallet: scan or make photocopies of your credit cards, IDs, medical insurance and alert information — and keep the copies in a handy, but safe, place.

Credit reporting agencies

Place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit reports. Doing so can make it more difficult for an identity thief to open accounts or request loans or credit in your name. How? Lenders and creditors will need to verify the identity of anyone requesting loans or credit. You simply need to contact one of the three credit reporting agencies; that will put an alert in place with all three.

You also can put a security freeze on your credit reports by contacting each agency individually. This allows you to control access to your credit report — a move that makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. Most lenders need to review your credit report before approving a new account. If they can't get access to your file, there's less chance they'll extend credit to a thief.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and your local police

Here are two more critical steps: Contact the FTC to file an Identity Theft Affidavit. Then file a local police report. Those actions will create an FTC Identity Theft Report. And that can help you get information about accounts a thief opened or misused, erase untrue information from your credit report, stop creditors from collecting identity theft-driven debts and more.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Think someone might have your Social Security number? The SSA and IRS can help. You can check with the SSA to verify the earnings reported on your Social Security number and request a copy of your Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005). If you find anything amiss, file a report at www.socialsecurity.gov/oig or by calling 1.800.269.0271.

Identity thieves can also use Social Security numbers to gain access to your tax records (and refunds). In addition to the steps outlined above, the IRS recommends you contact them immediately if you receive notices stating, for example, that multiple tax returns were filed using your Social Security number, or you're facing collection actions for a year you didn't file a tax return.

Of course, the best strategy is to lock down your online information as tightly as possible. Using strong passwords — and frequently changing them — is one good practice. This article offers five additional tips. Still, with thieves and hackers becoming ever more wily, it's challenging to secure all potential points of entry. So be ready to act after the fact.

ID theft resources: Whom to contact

Credit reporting agencies

Equifax

• www.Equifax.com
• 1.800.525.6285

Experian

• www.Experian.com
• 1.888.397.3742

TransUnion

• www.TransUnion.com
• 1.800.680.7289

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• You can reach the FTC at 1.877.438.4338 and also find more information via the Identity Theft Report page.

SSA and IRS

• You can call the SSA at 1.800.772.1213 to verify the earnings reported on your Social Security number and request a copy of your Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005).
• You'll find a wealth of information on the IRS Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance page.

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Information by Amerprise