Resources, Strategies and Consumer Tools for Protecting Your Identity
After an identity theft incident, many victims are unsure of what to do next. Who do they inform? What steps do they take? How will they know if their credit reports and scores are unharmed?
These are all important questions that must be addressed, but it may be difficult for you to act methodically and efficiently if you have just learned you are an identity theft victim. Therefore, learning about the resources and fraud protection services available to you before an attack occurs can help you understand how to handle identity theft if it does happen to you.
Start With Credit Monitoring
Credit monitoring is often the go-to option for identity theft victims because it allows them to keep tabs on their credit reports and scores and stay alert of any unauthorized changes to their credit accounts. Enrolling in this type of service may offer you more peace of mind. If your personal information becomes compromised, it can help you stay vigilant to fraudulent activity that may occur in your name and damage your good credit score.
Dispute Fraudulent Items on Your Credit Reports
The information or marks on your credit report must meet two criteria: It must be fair and it must be accurate. While the former deals with instances when a credit company does not follow proper credit reporting guidelines, the latter provides you with a layer of fraud protection. For example, if you find a fraudulent account on your credit reports, you may write a dispute letter to the credit reporting agency and the company that holds the account, informing them that the account in question is illegitimate. With your dispute letter, you will want to include any evidence that may support your case. Keep in mind that, by law, credit reporting agencies have 30 days to respond to a dispute letter
Where to Learn More
Take time and make an effort to familiarize yourself with identity theft protection resources so that you will know who to contact after an incident. Because so much responsibility ultimately to dispute fraud falls on a victim’s shoulders, knowing who you can turn to for assistance and guidance may help alleviate some of that burden from you. Here is a list of contacts that may help:
Federal Resources
- Better Business Bureau
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission National Resource on Identity Theft
- FTC ID Theft Affidavit
Organizations
- National Center for Victims of Crime
- National Fraud Information Center
- National White Collar Crime Center
- Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Tools
- Sample Letter: To Resolve Credit Disputes
- Sample Letter: To a Credit Reporting Agency
- Sample Letter: To Your Credit Issuer
- Sample Letter: To Your Police Department
- Remove Yourself from Mailing Lists, Telemarketing Lists, and Email Lists
Education and Assistance
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