If You’re a Victim of Identity Theft

The United States Department of Justice and the Department of the Solicitor General advise that if you have become a victim of identity theft, you should take three immediate steps.

First, contact your bank or credit card company if you have had your checks or credit cards stolen or wrongfully obtained.

Second, report the matter to your local police of jurisdiction. Police authorities often will take police reports even if the crime ultimately may be investigated by another law enforcement agency. In addition, a creditor who mistakenly believes that you are the person responsible for a fraudulent transaction may want to see a copy of a police report before correcting your credit account or credit report.

Third, report your identity theft case immediately to the appropriate government and private-sector organizations listed below. Canadian and American agencies such as these are compiling information on identity theft to identify theft trends and patterns, and using the information to assist law enforcement agencies in possible investigations.

Place a fraud alert

Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact any of the three major consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. For more information about fraud alerts, see What are fraud alerts?

Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your SSN will appear on your credit reports.

Once you receive your reports, review them carefully to make sure no fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts. See What should I look for on a credit report to indicate identity theft? and How I do correct inaccurate information on my credit report? You should continue to check your reports periodically, especially in the first year of discovery, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

Contact Creditors

Contact the creditors (for example, credit card companies, phone companies and other utilities, and banks and other lenders) to close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Ask to speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each creditor, then follow up in writing. It's particularly important to notify credit card companies in writing. See What should I do about unauthorized charges on my credit cards? You may ask creditors for a copy of the application or other business transaction records relating to your identity theft, if you think that this information will be helpful to prove that are you are a victim. Creditors must provide this information free of charge. See How do I prove that I'm an identity theft victim? For more information on closing accounts see What do I do if someone has tampered with my existing accounts? and What do I do if someone has opened new credit accounts in my name?

File a complaint with the FTC

The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases which are used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we may better assist you. See Filing a Complaint with the FTC.