Divorce Without Dishonor

Identity theft rob sits victims both financially and emotionally. The arduous task of repairing your financial records and credit for many is far more devastating than the loss of money. The fastest growing crime in America, we’ve been talking about identity theft lately (see our previous posts starting with September 8).

If, despite every precaution, you become the luckless victim of identity thieves, there are steps you can take to minimize the damage. As you are working to restore your identity and credit, make sure you keep all correspondence and make a detailed record of all your conversations, including date, who you talked to and a summary of what was said. The longer you wait to act, the more damage identity thieves can do and the more costly it will be to you, so take immediate action.

Report the theft to the police immediately and request that a theft report be filed.

• Filing a police report gives you greater protection and may be required by some identity theft protection/insurance programs.
• Used in conjunction with the filing of a theft report to the Federal Trade Commission, it can provide you with certain useful protections as noted below.

Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and review your current credit reports.

• Fraud alerts help prevent identity thieves from opening accounts in your name. Use the toll-free number below to alert one of the three major credit reporting companies. You only need contact one agency as it is required to contact the other two.
• Each company should send you a confirmation that a fraud alert has been placed on your credit report. If you fail to receive a notice from one of the companies, contact them directly and immediately.
• When a fraud alert is placed in your file, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies. 
• Review each credit report carefully. Make sure the name, address and other information listed are correct. Look for companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you haven’t opened and debits on your accounts you can’t explain. Report any discrepancies immediately.
• For at least the first year, recheck your credit reports every three months after the initial theft.
• The three credit reporting agencies and their contact information are:
  Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
  Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
  TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Close accounts you know or suspect have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

• Call and speak to someone in the security or fraud department of each company.
• Follow up your conversation with a letter and include copies of supporting document.
• Written notification is essential,particularly to banks and credit card companies. You need to create a record of the actions you take. Send all letters via certified mail, return receipt requested and keep the receipt cards when you receive them in the mail.
• Maintain an orderly file of all your correspondence and the originals of any supporting documents you enclose, as well as records of phone conversations.
• If charges have been made to your accounts, request a fraud dispute form. Return it to the address listed on your bill for billing inquiries, not the address you send your payments to.
• Once all disputes have been resolved, as the company for a letter stating that disputed accounts have been closed and that fraudulent debts have been discharged. This is your best proof of settlement should future errors appear on your credit report.

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

• Filing a complaint with the FTC provides you one more level of protection. It also provides federal law enforcement officials with valuable information they can use to track down identity thieves across the county.
• You can file your complaint in any of the following ways:
  Fill out the FTC online complaint form
  Phone the toll-free hotline: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338), TTY: 1-866-653-4261
  Write: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580.
• Provide the police a printed copy of your FTC ID Theft Complaint and ask them to incorporate it their police report. The two reports together constitute a Identity Theft Report which entitles you to certain protections, including:
  1. Permanently blocks fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report.
  2. Ensures than debts do not appear on your credit report.
  3. Prevents companies from continuing to collect debts resulting from the theft.
  4. Places an extended fraud alert on your credit report.