To stop identity theft - place fraud alert on credit reports and review credit reports
Call the toll-free fraud number of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report. This will prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.
As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will automatically be notified to place fraud alerts on your credit report, and all three reports will be sent to you free of charge.
Equifax - To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285, and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian - To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742), and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Trans Union - To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289, and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Once you receive your reports, review them carefully - look for:
- inquiries you didn’t initiate
- accounts you didn’t open
- unexplained debts on your true accounts
Where “inquiries” appear from the company(ies) that opened the fraudulent account(s), request that these “inquiries” be removed from your report.
Check that information such as your SSN, address(es), name or initial, and employers are correct. Inaccuracies in this information also may be due to typographical errors. Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are due to fraud or error, you should notify the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone and in writing.
Continue to check your reports periodically, especially in the first year after you’ve discovered the theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred. The automated “one-call” fraud alert process only works for the initial placement of your fraud alert. Orders for additional credit reports or renewals of your fraud alerts must be made separately at each of the three major credit bureaus.
This is only the first step to stop identity theft.
Stop Identity Theft - step 2 ...
