Report Identity Theft: Steps You Need to Take to Minimize the Damages of Identity Theft

Identity theft, the stealing of your personal and financial information for committing financial fraud and gaining access to your finances and credit, is on the rise. Because of the widespread occurrence of identity theft, you should be prepared and know how to report identity theft to help protect your identity and minimize the damage should you ever become a victim. It is vital that you act very quickly and be very organized and thorough in your approach should identity theft ever happen to you.

Reviewing your bank and credit card statements as well as your credit report on a regular basis will help alert you to any potential problems. Should you ever suspect that your identity has been stolen or compromised you should report identity theft immediately by filing a police report with your local police department. The police report will be needed to get your accounts frozen and to help the police in trying to track down the identity thief.

Immediately call your bank to alert them of potential fraudulent activity and have your debit and/or credit cards closed and have them issue new ones for you. Also contact your credit card banks and have them freeze your accounts and have new cards assigned to you.

Report identity theft to the three main credit agencies: Transunion, Experian and Equifax. You can request a fraud alert be put on your account which will help in preventing identity thieves from establishing credit using your personal information.

Another important measure to take is to contact your local Social Security office to alert them of the potential misuse of your social security card and have them assign a new social security number and card to you.

It is very important to act immediately the moment you suspect you may be a victim of identity theft. Identity thieves will be acting quickly to empty your accounts and commit financial crimes in your name, so it is vital that you have an organized plan to report identity theft to the police, government officials and all financial institutions, get accounts canceled or frozen, and have new cards issued to you. You should have contact information ready and keep your financial records well organized and stored in a safe place.

Having a well organized report identity theft plan laid out ahead of time will help minimize the damage and speed up the process of reclaiming your identity, should you ever fall victim to identity theft.