The signs can vary, but typical indicators of fraud and/or stolen identity include:
· One of your creditors informs you that they have received an application for credit with your name and Social Security number.
· Incoming calls or letters stating that you have been approved or denied by a creditor to which you never applied.
· You receive credit card, utility, or telephone statements in your name and address for which you never applied.
· You no longer receive your credit card statements, or notice that not all of your mail is delivered to you.
· A collection agency tells you they are collecting for a defaulted account established with your identity, but you never opened the account.
If you think you have become a victim of identity theft, or fraud, act immediately to minimize the damage to your funds, financial accounts and credit report.
Below is a list of some actions that you should take right away:
Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation:
Online www.ftc.gov
By telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338 or TDD at 202-326-2502), or
By mail to Consumer Response Center, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
Under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, the Federal Trade Commission is responsible for receiving and processing complaints from people who believe they may be victims of identity theft, providing informational materials to those people, referring those complaints to appropriate entities, including the major credit reporting agencies and law enforcement agencies. For further information, please check the FTC's identity theft web pages. You can also call your local office of the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service to report crimes relating to identity theft and fraud.
You may also need to contact other agencies for other types of identity theft.
1. Your local office of the Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that an identity thief has submitted a change-of-address form with the Post Office to redirect your mail, or has used the mail to commit frauds involving your identity.
2. The Social Security Administration if you suspect that your Social Security number is being fraudulently used (call 800-269-0271 to report the fraud.)
3. The Internal Revenue Service if you suspect the improper use of identification information in connection with tax violations (call 1-800-829-0433 to report the violation.)
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