Help, my identity was stolen

Many people who have been identity theft victims have been overwhelmed by what they need to do next. Identity theft can happen to anyone and oftentimes you will have done nothing to cause this.

Unfortunately, a few con artists use phishing techniques to get your data. If you discover that you have been a victim of identity theft, it is important that you take action immediately and start to work on the damage that occurred by the identity thief. The first step you can take is to identify what actually happened. Lost credit cards, drivers license, Social Security cards and other personal documents should be canceled or reported immediately.

Canceling these will insure that they cannot be used by anyone. You should also be sure that no purchases have been made that were not authorized by you. Consult with your credit card companies to get through this tough situation and to ensure that you will not be held liable.

A good Internet security program will go a long way to protecting you online. The best ones include phishing applications. Be sure to purchase that provides these features. You should also be sure to review your credit report as soon as you can. You can order free credit reports online. You should be sure that everything on your credit report is accurate. Should you find a problem, be sure report it right away.

Checking your credit report will either validate that you haven’t suffered from identity theft or can show you where to look when your identity has been taken. If you ever find accounts listed that you are not aware of it might be a signal that you have been struck by ID theft. Also make sure you validate the addresses listed to be sure no one has tried to secure credit under your name using another address. If you do discover any problems with your credit report, it is important that you get in touch with the lenders to find out what is going on and to inform them that you did not open that account. You can find the numbers of these lenders on the credit report. This makes it easy to notify lenders about the theft.

After you’ve completed the initial reports you will need to keep working with the lenders to get to source the problem. Often you may even require the assistance of a lawyer to help you weed through some of this resolution process. It is important that you take measures to protect yourself and be aware of what you can do if you ever are the victim of ID theft.