Discovering you're a victim of identity theft is overwhelming. This step-by-step guide walks you through exactly what to do — in the right order — to minimize damage and recover.
Discovering that your identity has been stolen is one of the most stressful experiences a consumer can face. The average victim spends 200 hours over 6 months resolving the damage. But the actions you take in the first 48 hours have an outsized impact on how much damage occurs and how quickly you recover. This guide walks you through the right steps in the right order.
Step 1 — Place a fraud alert immediately. Call any one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax: 800-525-6285, Experian: 888-397-3742, TransUnion: 800-680-7289) and place a fraud alert. That bureau is required to notify the other two. A fraud alert asks lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening new credit. This takes about 5 minutes and is free.
Step 2 — Place a credit freeze at all three bureaus. A fraud alert is a soft measure; a credit freeze is a hard lock. Go to each bureau's website and place a freeze: Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services, Experian.com/freeze, TransUnion.com/credit-freeze. Also freeze at NCTUE (nctue.com) and Innovis (innovis.com). Keep the PINs in a safe place — you'll need them to lift the freeze when you apply for credit.
Step 3 — File a report with the FTC. Go to IdentityTheft.gov — the FTC's official identity theft recovery site. It will walk you through creating a personalized recovery plan, generate an Identity Theft Report (which has legal weight when disputing fraudulent accounts), and provide pre-filled letters for creditors and credit bureaus. This is the most important document in your recovery.
Step 4 — File a police report. Take your FTC Identity Theft Report to your local police department and file a report. Some creditors and bureaus require a police report number to process disputes. Keep a copy of the report. Step 5 — Contact affected institutions. Call every bank, credit card issuer, and creditor where fraudulent activity occurred. Ask to speak with the fraud department, provide your FTC Identity Theft Report number, and request that fraudulent accounts be closed and removed from your credit report.
Step 6 — Dispute fraudulent items on your credit reports. Request free copies of all three credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. Identify every fraudulent account and dispute each one in writing with the relevant bureau, including a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report. Bureaus must investigate and respond within 30 days. Step 7 — Secure your accounts. Change passwords on all important accounts, enable two-factor authentication everywhere, and enroll in the IRS IP PIN program to prevent tax identity theft. Recovery is a process, not an event — but with these steps completed, you've done the most important work.
Safety 1st Editorial Team
This article is credited to Safety 1st Editorial Team. Safety 1st Consumer Protection has republished this content with attribution.