• Baby Boomers
• Family
• Green
• Home and Auto
• In Critical Condition
• Just Starting Out
• Lifestyle
• Money

For additional information on identity theft protection, and follow-up steps, there are several excellent resource sites that you may utilize for more comprehensive information. The Federal Trade Commission has a comprehensive website, "Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft," at ftc.gov. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse provides information at privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm

1. Contact one of three credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your credit reports. It is not necessary to call all three, as the bureau you contact is required to contact the other two. Placing the fraud alert means that your file will be flagged and that creditors are required to call you before extending credit. Under new provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA, §605A), you may place an initial fraud alert for a 90-day period only. The credit bureaus are then required to mail you a notice of your rights as an identity theft victim. Once you receive this information, you may contact each of the three bureaus immediately to request two things: 1) A free copy of your credit report and 2) An extension of your fraud alert to seven years.

Equifax
P.O. Box 105873
Atlanta, GA 30348
equifax.com
(800) 685-1111

Trans Union
Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
transunion.com
(800) 916-8800 or (800) 888-4213

Experian
P.O. Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013-2104
experian.com
(888) 397-3742

2. Contact the appropriate creditor or financial institution, and suspend or close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been compromised or opened without your authorization.
   
   
3. File a report with your local police.
   
   
4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can file a complaint online at consumer.gov/idtheft. If you don't have Internet access, call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653- 4261; or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.
   
   
5. Keep complete records, maintain copies of all documentation and reports, and monitor your credit on an ongoing basis. As part of the initial fraud alert with your credit bureaus, you are entitled to a free credit report from each bureau. This is in addition to the free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus you are entitled under federal law once per year at annualcreditreport.com or by contacting each bureau directly. California, for confirmed identity theft victims, allows you to receive a free credit report once per month for twelve months. In seven states, whether you are an identity theft victim or not, you are entitled to a free credit report (in addition to the credit report you are entitled to under federal law) from each of the three bureaus under state law. These states are Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. Georgia residents have the right to two (2) additional free credit reports over and above the one free credit report yearly under federal law. You may also monitor key changes to all three of your credit reports on a daily basis by enrolling in a credit monitoring service that tracks changes to your Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion reports and sends you email alerts to notify you of any changes.

Visit CreditLearningCenter.com today!

Get Your Credit Score, Credit Report and 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring Free for 30 Days

Reduce Financial Stress
5 strategies to help you take charge of your financial world

Part-Time Opportunity
How part-time work can save you money

Closing Old Accounts
Doing so may impact your credit score

It's Not the $3 Cup of Coffee
Key choices that provide for financial security and peace of mind

I Would like to:

• Read other articles on this topic
  
• See what else is in this issue
  
• Subscribe to "The Dollar Stretcher" free weekly email newsletter
  
• visit the Problem Solving Center
  
• visit the Reference Library
  
• browse the 'author' index
  
• search 'by date' index
  
• check out Past Issues of Newsletter
  
• go see 'What's New'
  
• "Can You Help This Reader?"
  
• drop by 'Tips, Quips & Quotes'
  
• send email to the Editor of "The Dollar Stretcher"