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Identity Theft Victim1- Have a plan of action before you do any thing. Think your actions through before taking the first step to defend yourself and make your case. Some mistakes may be hard to recover and may have lasting affects on your records, life and family. Identity theft destroys lives and can even kill its victim in some cases and although some thieves may commit financial fraud with someone else's identity out of a special human need like getting food, I sometimes wonder if they fully understand the fire they play with and the lives and families they destroy, and that's why I keep writing; to not only help the victims but also raise awareness and educate all including the identity theft criminals. More on fraud action plan here. 2- Notify the creditors of the fraud case at issue immediately such as the credit card company and ask to close your account(s) and inform them that you are an identity theft victim and the charges were not authorized by you. Usually, consumers are not liable for unauthorized credit card charges over $50 if disputed timely. However, identity theft victims may be liable for other identity frauds such as ATM withdrawals. Learn how to construct a dispute letter. 3- File a police report to claim you are an identity theft victim and a crime was committed against you. This is a very important step and may be the basis for all of your other actions to claim innocence and make a case for your defense. Learn why you need to file a report. 4- Contact any of the 3 consumer reporting companies and tell them you are an identity theft victim and ask them to place a fraud alert on your credit report. The company you contact will notify the other companies and ask to do the same thing. Ask for a copy of your credit report from all 3 companies free of charge. By placing a fraud alert, all creditors are required to contact you for confirmation and approval for opening new accounts or making changes to the existing ones. Here is the contact information for all 3 companies:
6- File a complaint report with the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
This is also important because the Federal Trade Commission has responsibility for fighting this crime and the more they know about identity theft cases and trends, better they can protect us. So, please share your case with the agency and contribute to the fight against identity criminals.
8- Take the identity theft victim vulnerability test and find out where you stand in the identity theft risk profile matrix. Discover how safe you are by taking this test. If you score high, you need to correct certain things and take certain actions to reduce your risk. 9- Study the KAOS™ identity management and protection system and apply the security tips described here. The KAOS™ system will make you more aware of the way you identify, organize, manage and secure your personal information. 10- Share your story with the members of this site and describe what happened, what actions you have taken and how you felt when you discovered you were a victim of this crime. This will be a huge support to other victims who are in search of moral support or people with similar experiences from whom they can learn. I will include your anonymous story along with my story here in order to help others who might be experiencing similar problems in their lives and show our support for and understanding of their pain. Who knows, you might feel better too. Provide your story without giving away personal information. As always, your e-mail address will only be used to either respond to your question or send you the newsletter and never shared with any other person. When you have more time and have dealt with this crime, return to get more facts and information related to identity theft. Learn about identity theft facts and fraud types here. Learn as much as you can and protect yourself. I am here to help as much as I can and remember, you are not alone and just one click away for additional identity theft victim help. Be identity safe. Henry Bagdasarian
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