What You Should Do If It Happens

What is identity theft?

What should you do if your identity is stolen?

Filing a police report, checking your credit reports, notifying creditors, and disputing any unauthorized transactions are some of the steps you must take immediately to restore your good name. To learn more about these steps and more, visit the DEFEND: Recover from Identity Theft section. To file a complaint, click here.
Federal Trade Commission Report

Another method is to have a constant monitoring system in place. Also have a system in place that will do the work for you if and when your identity is stolen. That's what the identity theft services do. For more information, see the page that compares these services.

Some of the things that you will need to do if it does happen to you.

Call your bank and/or credit card company
Contact the three major credit repositories
Go through the helpful but expensive steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission in its 30-page consumer support publication
Fill out and submit the affidavit form supplied by the FTC to dispute new, unauthorized accounts
Spend on average $1,200 in out-of-pocket expenses and an average of 175 hours in your efforts to resolve the many problems caused by identity thieves
OR

You can find a protection service that will protect you