Security

How to Deal with Fraud & Identity Theft

If you suspect you might be a victim of identity theft or financial fraud, take the following steps immediately:

Contact the credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your credit report

Report any identity theft incidents as quickly as possible, to one of the three major credit bureaus listed below, to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one. The credit bureau that you call is required to contact the other two.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289 www.transunion.com

When you place a fraud alert on your credit report, any new credit requests or changes to existing account information will be reviewed very carefully to verify that the requestor is really you.

Contact the Social Security Administration

If you think your identity or Social Security Number has been used without your consent, call the Social Security Administration Fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271.

Order a credit report

Review your credit reports carefully, looking for any inconsistencies. Verify that your personal information (SSN, mailing address, initials, etc.) is correct. Look through your credit report for accounts you didn't open or debts that you can't explain. If you find information on your credit report that you think is the result of identity theft, you can ask the credit bureau to remove that information from your credit report. Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

Close fraudulent accounts

If you find accounts have been opened in your name without your knowledge, contact the company directly and ask to have them closed. Inform the company that the account was opened fraudulently. Keep detailed notes of your conversation and ask for documentation showing the account has been closed.

If you suspect that any of your accounts has been compromised, please notify us immediately using the 'Contact Us' section at the top of the page.

File a police report

Contact your local law enforcement agency to file a report, to help you with creditors who may need more information.

Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission

Call 1-877-IDTHEFT (877-438-4338) or TTY 1-866-653-4261 to report ID theft, so that law enforcement across the country can use the information to help with its investigations. You can also report ID theft to the FTC online at www.ftc.gov/idtheft.

The FTC has a comprehensive identity theft recovery guide titled "Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft". This publication is also available at www.ftc.gov/idtheft.