What to do if your identity has been stolen

1.    First, contact the fraud departments, of any of the three consumer reporting companies and place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to call one of these companies; the one you call will contact the other two. With a fraud alert on your report, the companies will contact you before opening any new accounts or changing any existing accounts.

a.     Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

b.    Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

c.     TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

2.    Next, close all of the accounts that you think have been tampered with. When disputing new unauthorized accounts, complete the ID Theft Affidavit. It can be found at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

3.    File a police report in the community where the theft took place. Get a copy of the police report to give to creditors who need proof that a crime has been committed.

4.    File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. They keep a record of ID theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations.