Reclaiming Your Good Name
What to do if you are a victim of identity theft
For Immediate Release: February 20, 2003
ROCKVILLE, Md. — Whether you discover unusual charges on your credit cards, start receiving bills for items you never bought, or notice accounts listed on your credit report that are not yours, identity theft is not easy to fix.
"As soon as you discover that you've been a victim of identity theft, take immediate action," said Steve Rhode, president and co-founder of Myvesta, a nonprofit financial management organization. "Every day you delay will make clearing your name that much harder."
According to Rhode the first thing you should do is contact your local police department and report the crime. "Some banks may require a police report as proof you've been a victim of identity theft," Rhode said. "Then it's time to get on the phone and notify your creditors of what happened. Call your creditors and ask to speak to their fraud department, then follow up with a certified letter, return receipt requested, to confirm your call."
Rhode also recommends taking these additional steps after being a victim of identity theft:
- Obtain a consolidated copy of your credit report from Myvesta.org. A consolidated report contains information from all three credit-reporting agencies - Experian, Trans Union and Equifax.
- Contact the credit reporting agencies and have them place a fraud alert in your file.
- Call your bank or credit union and have them cancel your account numbers, ATM and debit cards and PIN numbers, then get new ones.
- Call your local utility companies to let them know that services may have been opened fraudulently in your name.
More information on recovering from identity theft can be found in the Myvesta publication "Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself and What to Do If You Are a Victim." It can be downloaded from Mvyesta.org online.
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MyvestaSM is dedicated to helping people create healthy financial lives. The organization provides a wide range of materials to inspire and inform people so that they can break down their barriers to financial and personal success. For more information visit Myvesta.org online.
