In this video, Attorney Gary Nitzkin tells you what you should do when you discover that your identity has been stolen.

The first thing you should do is put a temporary fraud alert on your credit report. This lets potential creditors know that you have been the victim of identity theft. A fraud alert is good for 90 days.

An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years.

You can have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you've been a victim of identity theft and you provide the consumer reporting company with an Identity Theft Report. An automated Identity Theft Report, such as the printed ID Theft Complaint available from the FTC's web site, should be sufficient to obtain an extended fraud alert. With an extended fraud alert, potential creditors must actually contact you, or meet with you in person, before they issue you credit. When you place an extended alert on your credit report, you're entitled to two free credit reports within twelve months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. In addition, the consumer reporting companies will remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened credit offers for five years unless you ask them to put your name back on the list before then.

Either fraud alert only requires you to contact just one of the three major credit reporting agencies. The one that you contact will notify the other two credit reporting agencies. You may contact them as follows:
•Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
•Experian: 1-888-397-3742
•Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

Close the accounts that have been used by the identity thief.

If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or has fraudulently opened accounts, ask the company for the forms to dispute those transactions:

For charges and debits on existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn't have special forms, use the sample letter to dispute the fraudulent charges or debits. In either case, write to the company at the address given for "billing inquiries," NOT the address for sending your payments.

For new unauthorized accounts, you can either file a dispute directly with the company or file a report with the police and provide a copy, called an "Identity Theft Report," to the company.

Posit a consumer dispute to the trade lines with the credit reporting agencies reporting them. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can posit a dispute to any item that you believe is incorrectly appearing on your credit report. Beware, that you must posit that dispute to the credit reporting agency and not to the creditor that is furnishing that information. We have attached a sample consumer dispute letter for your convenience.

Fill out the FTC ID Theft Complaint Form. You can do this on line. Bring a copy of this Complaint form with you when you file your police report. File a police report with your local police. This is vitally important because often times, the credit reporting agencies will require you to produce a police report in order to place a fraud alert on your credit report. Again, bring a copy of the ID Theft Complaint Form that you prepared on line with the Federal Trade Commission. Be sure that the officer incorporates the ID Theft Complaint Form into her report.

If you think you are a victim of identity theft, call Attorney Gary Nitzkin, toll free at (888) 293-2882 or visit [ Ссылка ]. Put our experience to use. The call is free and the advice is free. You can also email gary@micreditlawyer.com.

свернуть