Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or financial information without your permission.
They might steal your name and address, credit card, or bank account numbers, Social Security number, driver's license number, or medical insurance account numbers and use that information for financial gain.
Are you an identity theft victim?
If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, take the following actions immediately:
- Step 1: Call the companies where you know fraud occurred and ask them to close or freeze the accounts. Then, change logins, passwords, and PINs for these accounts.
- Step 2: Place a free, one-year fraud alert by contacting one of the three credit bureaus. That company must then tell the other two. Then be sure to obtain a copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com to check for errors.
- Experian | Experian.com/help | 888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
- TransUnion | TransUnion.com/credit-help | 888-909-8872
- Equifax | Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services | 800-685-1111
- Step 3: Report identity theft to the FTC by completing the online form or by calling 1-877-438-4338. Be sure to include as many details as possible.
- Step 4: You may choose to file a report with your local police department with the following documentation:
- a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report
- a government-issued photo ID
- proof of your address (mortgage statement, rental agreement, utilities bill, etc.)
- any other proof you have of the theft (bills, IRS notices, etc.)
After you get through those first few steps, you can start to work on minimizing any further damage.
- Close new accounts opened in your name. The FTC Identity Theft Report is your best tool to use at this step.
- Remove bogus charges from your accounts by calling the fraud department of each business. The FTC Identity Theft Report will be a key tool for this as well.
- Correct your credit report by writing to each of the three credit bureaus with a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report.
- TransUnion: Fraud Victim Assistance Department, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
- Equifax: P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
- Experian: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
- Consider adding an extended fraud alert at one of the three credit bureaus or a credit freeze at each of the three credit bureaus.
- Review your credit reports often. You can check your reports every week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. This can help you spot any new fraud quickly. If you have a Freedom Perks Checking account, you can enjoy free credit and identity theft monitoring using the FFCU Perks mobile app. Learn more about Freedom Perks Checking here.
You can also find more steps for specific types of identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.