Fighting Back Against Identity Theft

If your identity has been compromised

If your identity has already been stolen, there are steps you can take to rectify the situation and to see to it that it doesn't happen again.

First, notify the authorities

If you have been a victim of any type of identity theft, you should notify local law enforcement immediately. Reporting the theft is an important first step because repairing your credit or proving to your lenders that you have had your identity stolen will require the official police report as proof that you have actually reported the crime and measures are being taken. When you go to the police, you will need to have any and all information that makes you suspicious or reveals that your identity has been stolen.

Second, get protected to stop any further damage

The next thing you will want to do is to stop any damage being done by the identity thieves who are working on your identity by calling the three credit reporting agencies and requesting a freeze on your credit. Let them know that you believe your identity has been compromised and request a temporary hold on any changes to your credit report. Then, you should call your banks and credit cards and do the same thing. If the identity thief is using a credit card that you do not have access to (they opened a new account), then your call should be enough to throw the account into suspicion and get it frozen by their fraud department, even if you don't have access to the actual card, account or number.

Use the form her at YourIdentityTheftScore.com to get connected and set up with an identity theft protection services in order to get them on the job of protecting you from any further damage.

Third, assess the damage

Get copies of your credit report from the major credit reporting agencies as well as copies of all of the most recent statements from all of your accounts. Don't forget to check your retirement or investment accounts as well. Compile a list of any and all suspicious activity on all of your accounts or credit reports and think carefully to be sure that the activity was not, in fact, perpetrated by you unknowingly.

Finally, start writing

This is where the worst part of having your identity stolen begins - you have to begin writing and contacting the various agencies where the thieves have compromised your identity and explaining the situation to them. They will want to see a copy of the police report and verification that you are now, really, who you say they are. This can take awhile, so you must be patient with them, understanding that they are now on alert and need to take steps carefully to avoid any further damage to your credit.

Repairing your credit can cost significant time and money, and is the reason why being insured against loss by engaging a qualified identity theft protection service is a smart thing to do. Since no service can guarantee your information will be safe, they will guarantee that if your identity is compromised while you are using their services, they will fix all of the issues on their own time and their own dime. Ask anyone who has had their identity stolen: That is worth some serious peace of mind.