Steps to Take if Your Identity Has Been Stolen

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Steps to Take if Your Identity Has Been Stolen

Keep a log

In the event of a crime, you need supporting documentation. Take notes of your correspondences, whether by email, phone, or letter. Include names, dates, and contact information. Keep track of your hours and your expenses. You may be able to take a tax deduction on expenses related to theft.

Fill out an identity theft affidavit

Fill out affidavits with the FTC and possibly the IRS.

FTC

The Federal Trade Commission provides an online report at www.identitytheft.gov/. Filling out the form and having it on file at the FTC can help your creditors investigate fraud in your accounts, block it from appearing on your credit report, and prevent companies from collecting debts that are not yours. Mail it in by certified mail with a return receipt, and take a copy of it to your local police station as part of the police report you should file. While filling out this form will not by itself resolve the theft, it will be one piece that can help your case along. The FTC can refer your complaint to other government agencies or companies.

You can also call the FTC:

FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline
1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) (toll-free)
TTY: 1-866-653-4261

Or write:

Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

IRS

ID theft can also spill over into your taxes if your Social Security number has been stolen and someone has been using it to report income that they have no intention of paying tax on. You might get a letter stating that you filed more than one tax return, that you owe money, or that you received wages from an employer that you did not actually work for. The IRS provides an ID theft affidavit at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf. You can also contact the IRS at 1-800-908-4490.

Stop payment on checks

For ID theft involving your checks or a checking account, contact your financial institution to report it. Ask them to notify the check verification service that it uses so that it can stop payment on them. It is important that you take these steps as soon as possible, because your liability for unauthorized use of your checking account may be limited, depending on the state you live in.

You can also contact the two major check verification companies directly. To ask that they notify businesses that use their databases not to accept your checks, call TeleCheck at 1-800-710-9898 or call Certegy at 1-800-237-3826.

To find out whether the ID thief has been using bad checks in your name, call SCAN at 1-800-262-7771.

If your ATM card has been compromised, cancel it as soon as you can and get a new one with a new PIN.