Recovering from Identity Theft

If you fall prey to an identity thief, you probably won’t even know it unless you start getting collection calls for an account you weren’t even aware of. Or, you’ll spot some suspicious activity on an account. If you believe that your identity has been stolen, you need to act fast- quick action will minimize the damage that the thief can do to your credit history. A lot of people end up having problems with credit card debt because their identity has been stolen.

Above all else, document everything you are doing to fight the identity theft. It is an arduous process, and it will probably take a while to get everything sorted out. While the information is still clear in your memory, write it all down so that you can refer to it later. Next, you need to get in touch with any credit card company that you have an account with-any card or loan with your identifying information on it can be at risk. When someone steals someone else’s identity, they usually make high-dollar purchases immediately, then take the goods to another store to get a cash refund.

Following that, you need to put a “freeze” on your credit report. This has to be done for each credit bureau, and when you do it, you’ll be preventing further unauthorized activity on your accounts. The process to do a “freeze” is different for each bureau. Also, you need to call the authorities and make a police report. It is considered an authoritative document by the credit bureaus and by creditors. Make sure that you retain a copy of the report.

Like we said, it can be hard to recover from identity theft. The best way to safeguard yourself is to not become a victim- but if identity theft happens to you, knowing how to speak the credit card language can give you some of the tools you’ll need to rebuild your credit and retain your good name.