I can’t believe it happened to me! I come home one evening and there was a message waiting for me from a credit card fraud division. They wanted to know if I had filled out an application. My first thought, this is a scam. But to be safe I called them back and, sure enough, they were legitimate. It was true; I was the victim of Identity theft, an identity thief had got my personal information and used it in an attempt to get a credit card. My heart sank, the feeling was almost indescribable. I am ever so grateful that this credit card company was alert enough to call me, it helped me head off certain disaster.

If this has happened to you, let me tell you what I learned about identity fraud, and how to minimize the damage. This is my step be step procedure…

Step 1) Panic: Totally freak out; curse the animals that did this and their relatives. Worry about how totally screwed you are. Once you get that out of your system…

Step 2) Don’t panic: If you, like me, were alerted at this early stage, you can stop them relatively quickly.

Step 3) Put in an initial fraud alert: This can be done by calling any of the 3 credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. As a courtesy, if you call anyone of these bureaus, they will notify the other two. An initial fraud alert will keep the thief from being able to get any NEW cards or loans and is good for 90 days. If you choose, you can have this extended for seven years.

Step 4) Pull a credit report: All three credit bureaus, by law, are required to give you one free credit report per year. This would be a good time to take advantage of that. Or, your can use anyone of the number of company’s that will give you all three at one time, for a fee.

Step 5) Call any credit companies that you did not apply for: I found there were six, I called all of them and alerted them to the fraud. Five of the six had not issued a card yet, one had. In fact, the thief had already received the card and used it. The issuer was able to immediately cancel the card, and a later received a letter that I was not liable for any charges.

Step 6) Call the police: They will ask for any information you have so keep good notes and have them ready. It is important to have this report on file because some credit card companies may need to reference it to clear you of fraudulent charges.

After these initial steps you will need to take steps to return your credit score to its original value. Mine dropped several points due to “hard pulls” done by the credit card companies each time an application was filed.

If you become the victim of identity theft, all is not lost. With time and perseverance you can recover.

I hope you never have to go through this, I certainly wish I had been more vigilant in protecting my identity, but if you do, all is not lost, and you can get your life back in order.

Credit Bureau Contact Information:

Equifax: P.O. Box 740250, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241.

Report fraud: Call (888) 766-0008 and write to address above.

TTY: (800) 255-0056

Web: equifax.com/

Experian: PO Box 9532 Allen TX, 75013

Report fraud: Call (888) EXPERIAN (888-397-3742) and write to address above.

TTY: Use relay to fraud number above.

Web: experian.com/fraud

TransUnion: P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790.

Report fraud: (800) 680-7289 and write to address above. TTY: (877) 553-7803

E-mail (fraud victims only): fvad@transunion.com

Web: transunion.com/

Is your identity secure? Is it really? Believe me, you can’t afford to have any doubt! Take steps now to secure your identity before it’s too late!

Author: Tom St. Amand
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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