It is becoming increasingly clear how important reporting identity theft can be for securing your identity. The aftermath of identity theft, a personal crime, can be very scary and very expensive. Often, it’s not until a credit card is declined that people discover they have become a victim of this insidious, unseen crime. Perhaps there’s a nasty letter from the IRS demanding past-due tax on income you’ve never earned, your card spat out or swallowed at the ATM because there are insufficient funds in your account, or a loan or mortgage refusal. It’s embarrassing, it’s inconvenient and it needs to be reported.

Regardless of how you discovered the disaster, speed is of the essence as far as reporting your identity as stolen. Time is not on your side as far as the money aspect is concerned and any tardiness by you may exacerbate the problem and preclude you from insurance compensation or give the thief the chance to put mechanisms in place that will prevent you from being able to resolve the issues resulting from the crime. Whether it’s fact or just suspicion it’s worth following these steps for reporting ID theft.

4 Steps for Reporting Identity Theft…

• Do not panic; stay calm. Vent your anger, rage and frustration after you have taken a deep breath and assessed the damage. How much damage has been done? Go through any accounts you have at hand and see if anything unusual has shown up on them. Be systematic and look for unauthorized transactions and/or requests for information changes. List the accounts you have that may be affected, even if not immediately apparent.

• Next step – Activate a fraud alert. This will flag up a warning on credit reports that will warn merchants of the suspected fraudulent use. They should be activated in all three credit reporting agencies with just one call to any of the credit bureaus that are part of the 2003 ID Fraud Initiative. Equifax 1.(800) 525-6285. Experian 1 (888).397-3742.   TransUnion 1 (800) 680-7289.

• Get your credit report reviewed. This step can be handled while you’re placing your fraud alert. Ask for a copy of your current credit report. When it arrives, check the accuracy of the information. If you discover any discrepancies, report them immediately. This might involve a dispute process – you are disputing the information, it’s red-tape so it’ll take time but it’s worth persevering.

• Close down any suspect accounts immediately. By reopening new accounts you will prevent a thief from accessing them another time.

Reporting Identity theft is a crucial step for securing your identity and for stopping any future breaches to your identity. Joining a reputable identity protection service is also an important key for securing your identity.