It is important to act quickly if you think your personal information has fallen into the wrong hands. Don’t wait to act even if you have a suspicion of identity theft – like mistakenly responding to a phony email request for your account information. The sooner you act, the better you can limit the damage.
3 key steps that need to be taken immediately.
1. Contact your financial services company.
They will shut down any accounts that may be compromised or at risk of being compromised.
You can find a list of toll-free fraud hotlines of many financial services companies here.
2. Contact the credit reporting agencies.
Ask to have a fraud alert placed on your credit report to alert you of any suspicious activity, like an account being opened without your knowledge.
Equifax
(800) 525-6285
www.equifax.com
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 |
Experian
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com
P.O. Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013-9701 |
Transunion
(800) 680-7289
www.transunion.com
Fraud Victim Assistance Division,
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 |
3. File a report with your local police department.
Some account holders and creditors require proof that you have filed a police report in order to help you resolve the crime.
Give the police as much information about the crime as possible. As for a copy of the report. You should file an additional police report if the crime occurred in another police jurisdiction.
Learn how ITAC can help you right now.
ITAC is a FREE service if you are a customer of a financial services company that belongs to ITAC.
- Find out if your company belongs to ITAC and call their toll-free fraud hotline.
- You must be referred to ITAC by your financial services company to use the free ITAC Victim Assistance® service.
- An ITAC agent will review your credit report with you to identify any suspicious activity and contact other account holders, if necessary.
