What to do when suspected identity theft?

Answer 1

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.

According to ftc.gov website there are number of ways thieves steal our identity.

1. Dumpster Diving. They rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.

2. Skimming. They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.

3. Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.

4. Changing Your Address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.

5. Old-Fashioned Stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.

6. Pretexting. They use false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources. For more information about pretexting,

In my own personal opinion I believe my fellow classmate Morgan is correct. Our technology is so advanced and there are millions of professionals hijackers who do this for a life. Your information may never be 100% safe. They can get your information on the internet or in person. Sometimes people either lose their wallets or purse or they get stolen. Yes there are programs that are either free or they sell them to you to protect you from identity theft but believe me it doesn't always work. I have experience identity theft before. I had to report to all 3 credit bureaus and fight for the charges on all my credit cards. Believe me it may take a while to get it all cleared up and doing the police report. They don't let you off the hook that easily. All I can really say is keep your wallet or purse safe. Try not to lose them. If you want you can try the identity theft programs. The biggest thing would be don't ever give out your personal information. There are a lot of people that enter them online and that is where most of the time it gets stolen. Unless you trust the website. We should have stronger laws against identity theft. It isn't fair of all of what the victim must go through. You should always monitor your bank accounts and check your credit with the 3 credit bureaus.

Answer 2

Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal information (such as name, Social Security number, credit card numbers or bank account numbers) to conceal crimes or get credit fraudulently. Identity theft is a crime. If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft, there are several important steps that you should take: First, report the crime to the police promptly and get a police report. Second, contact the three main credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) to get copies of your credit report - fraud victims are entitled to free copies - and ask about the agencies' fraud alert services.

Equifax: www.equifax.com

Experian: www.experian.com

Trans Union: www.transunion.com

Complete the FTC's ID Theft Affidavit form (www.consumer.gov/idtheft). Inform the credit grantors who have extended credit to the thief in writing about the situation and enclose copies of the police report and the ID Theft Affidavit. Keep copies of all letters you send and keep notes of any follow-up calls that you have with credit grantors, including the date, the name of person who called, and what was discussed.

Contact the Social Security Administration if someone is using your Social Security number. Contact your bank and credit card companies if someone is using your bank account, checking account or credit card numbers. Identity theft can be a costly and devastating crime for its victims as well as for the credit grantors who are defrauded. For more information about identity theft and consumer fraud, you may wish to visit the Federal Trade Commission consumer identity theft web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Additional information can be found at Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, www.privacyrights.org.

Answer 3

The best way is to find a monitoring - restoration service such as legalshield.com/hub/skelbus ($12.95 a month for one credit bureau monitoring, $15.95 a month for 3 credit bureau monitoring)

Or of course you could try to do this yourself but that could take you upwards of 6 1/2 - 10 years and lots of money

skelbusppls@sbcglobal.net

Answer 4

When I suspected identity theft because of a bill collector calling my house about a bill in another town I did not recognize. I contacted 3-1 credit reporting to pull my credit report on-line. It cost me $29.95 but it was worth it.

I found the creditor was calling because someone had purchased some expensive tires and rims using my SS#. I also found a $50,000 automobile purchase that happened the day before the tire and rim purchase.

The credit report gave me the contact info of the creditor. I called them and told them i did not make these purchases. They instructed to to file a police report and they sent me an affidavit to get notarized swearing these were not purchases.

Once I sent them the notarized form, the creditors quickly removed the purchases from the credit bureaus and sent me a signed letter stating they had removed the purchases.

This took only 2 weeks from start to finish. One of the creditors was a large financial institution.

From this point on, I now have a credit alert on my credit.

Answer 5

There are a number of actions that can and should be taken if one feels they are the victim of identity theft. As it is a crime punishable by law, one should immediately contact their police station, as well as their bank, to ensure that nobody has gotten into their accounts.

Answer 6

There are many things that you can do to prevent identity theft. First, don't use the same password for multiple accounts. Second, use a random password generator. Third, never share your passwords with anyone. Fourth, be very careful about where you use your computer, smartphone, etc. Don't log into things like banking websites in public places. Fifth, when throwing out bill and other documents, shred them first.

Answer 7

Here are some tips:

• Be careful when answering your email... don't give your personal information to anyone that way.
• Also, don't click on links to your bank or online accounts from email. Go to the internet and type it in directly.
• Watch out for emails that have misspelled words or weird grammar. They are often from non-legitimate sources.
• Check your bank often and make sure you know that the purchases there are your own. If you don't recognize one, call the number and find out what that place is. If you are certain it isn't you or anyone in your household, inform the bank. Most of them have fraud protection, and they will go after the bad guys and give you a new card, and usually take care of reversing the charges for you.

Answer 8

Notify the police and your banks and credit card companies; try to correct whatever was done illegally in your name.

Answer 9

my social security card got stolen. I need to report it just in case some tries to use .