Because you need to surrender personal information to credit reporting agencies for your credit report to be processed, there are chances of credit fraud and identity theft happening. Of course, there are greater possibilities of this if you are not careful in choosing people and establishments you make financial transactions with. Other than being careless in this aspect, thieves have gotten more clever devising means to get your personal information.



If ever you discover that you have become a victim, here are necessary actions you should take to stop the increase of losses.

Review your credit reports

When you avail of the annual credit reports the three most popular credit report company gives out to consumers for free, there is a better chance that you would recognize abnormalities on your report. This would directly mean that you should know how to read your credit report in the first place and that you are familiar if not personally well informed of your own credit behavior.

Upon reviewing your credit report and finding out that you are being scammed, you should instantly contact any of the three credit reporting bureaus and file a fraud alert. This will stop the thief from opening new accounts under your name. The company you notified has the responsibility to contact the other two companies which will place the same alert on their own copies of your report. Other than that, you can also asks all three companies for copies of your credit reports and they can give these to you for free in a more secure manner.

Close accounts

When you have already identified which among your accounts have been used without your permission, it is best that you close these accounts as soon as possible. This is to prevent further using these accounts and stealing from you. You can also ask for the cooperation of the fraud department of the companies which are handling the accounts which you believe have been tampered with or created by scammers.

Your negotiation with the creditors, banks and other establishment you have financial transactions with should be done in writing. Attach copies of necessary documents in your letters to explain your situation. Don't forget to ask for return receipts so that you know whether they have received your mails or not.

Consider coming up with new personal identification numbers when you open new accounts. This is to make sure that your new accounts are secure. Since you are already at it, avoid using available information like your birthday, your mother's maiden name, etc. in creating passwords.

Notify the law enforcers

Stealing an identity is a criminal act. This means that there are laws created to counter it. You should file a report with the local police or the police in the community where the fraud happened. Sometimes, there could be reluctance on the part of the police in filing your report. You can file it under "Miscellaneous Incidents" or you can try a different jurisdiction. When the report is filed, ask for a copy in case your creditors need proof of the incident.

File a Complaint

More than what the police can do, this crime mainly is the concern of the Federal Trade Commission. Filing a complaint on with this department will help law enforcers counter identity theft in general across the nation. The commission also has the power to refer your complaint to other departments for further action.