Identityfraudresources.com

Why Identity Theft Victims Suffer More Than If They Were Mugged At The Mall

Identity theft victims are forced to relive the crime over and over, whereas, a victim of a mall mugging may only be mugged once in a lifetime. The emotional pain exists in both instances, however, according to theft statistics, id theft victims may be victimized over and over once their personal information is stolen.

Let’s face it, being mugged by a criminal is very personal and not pleasant. As a retail manager, I have had the misfortune to be forced to stare down the business end of a 45 automatic once during a robbery. Let me repeat,
“Not very pleasant!” Here’s the kicker, within 30 days, the pain and anger was almost gone. Not so with being an identity theft victim according to id theft statistics.

Some Identity Theft Facts

• Many victims of identity theft have to carry around proof that they did not commit crimes they were accused of.
• Victims endure excessive searches at airports everytime they travel.
• Many are turned down for loans and other financial transactions, that they normally qualify for.
• Some pay higher interest rates on purchases even though they have proved that they are identity theft victims.

As an Identity Theft Victim, you really cannot control many of these outcomes. However, according to identity theft news reports, you can take definite steps however, that, when taken early enough, can actually diminish the long lasting effects.

Below are listed the Top Seven actions you should take, in order of importance.

7 Steps To Mitigate Identity Fraud Effects

Step 1: Reporting Fraud

The Very First action you should take would be to contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and make a report. You may do so by telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502, or by regular mail. Send correspondence certified, return receipt requested to: The Consumer Response Center, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

Step 2: Credit Reports And Fraud Alerts

The next step would be to contact any one of the three consumer reporting agencies, (Credit Bureaus). The Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA) gives you specific rights when you are, or believe that you are, the victim of identity theft. They will contact the other two for you.

You have the right to ask that consumer reporting agencies place “fraud alerts” in your credit file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of idtheft.

If you suffer from theft of identity, a fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow
certain procedures to protect you. It also should delay the fraudulent credit approval process.

As we mentioned earlier, there is no need to call all three consumer reporting agencies. Call one and they will notify the other two, who must also place fraud alerts in your file. Their contact information is below.

• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; website:
  http://www.equifax.com/
• Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); website:
  http://www.experian.com/ and
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; email:mailto:www.transunion.com
  Email Address

Fraud alerts stay in your file for at least 90 days. If they are extended, they stay in your file for seven years. The credit bureaus need you to provide proof of your identity, which may include your Social Security number. They will decide what proof is adequate.

Besides fraud alerts, the credit bureaus have the ability to place a credit freeze on your files. This is also an option you may or may not want to explore, depending upon your level of victimization.

Step Three: Don’t Forget The FBI And The Secret Service

Contact your local, federal or state law enforcement agency (police department) and file police reports. Every report you file shows how serious you are about correcting the situation. The reports also serve as proof to the credit bureaus, showing them that you really believe the idtheft occurred.

You may also call your local office of the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service to report crimes relating to identity theft and fraud. Their numbers are easily obtained from the local telephone directory.

Step Four: An Identity Theft Resource Often Overlooked, The U.S.P.S.

Contact your local office of the Postal Inspection Service (The Postal Police), 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.

Please have proof of these claims readily available.

Step Five: SSA Identity Theft Hotline

If you suspect that your Social Security Number is being used fraudulently, contact the Social Security Administration at  800-269-0271 to report the fraud.

Step Six: Our Friends At The Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service has an identity theft resource center for you to call if you suspect tax violations were committed using your identity. Report violations to 1-800-829-0433 as soon as possible.

Identity theft cases can often involve an increase in income that you will never see, but guess who’s liable for those taxes?

Step Seven: Theft Reporting To Everyone Else

Now that you have contacted the main players first, you may start contacting the secondary players. These are listed below in no particular order. The premise is that, they all should be contacted at some point, depending upon your particular situation.

Contact all creditors with whom your name or identifying data has been fraudulently used. For example, you may need to contact your cable company if your cable bill has been stolen or you find fraudulent charges on it.

Contact all financial institutions with whom you do business and those the identity thief chose to do business with on your behalf. You may need to cancel the accounts you can, place stop-payment orders on any outstanding checks that may not have cleared, and change your ATM card, your bank account numbers , and your Personal Identification Numbers (PIN).

Ironically, many institutions may not allow identity theft victims to close accounts that has balances on them. Instead they opt to sit on them, hoping to collect fees etc, while you try to prove they are fraudulent. That’s just wrong on so many levels.

If your check book was compromised by an identity thief, you should contact the major check verification companies, especially if you know that a particular merchant has received a check stolen from you. Contact the check verification company that the particular merchant uses. The major check verification companies are listed here:

• CheckRite — (800) 766-2748
• ChexSystems — (800) 428-9623 (for closed checking accounts)
• CrossCheck — (800) 552-1900
• Equifax — (800) 437-5120
• National Processing Co. (NPC) — (800) 526-5380
• SCAN — (800) 262-7771 and
• TeleCheck — (800) 710-9898

We know that it seems like a lot to do, and it is. The fact is, you only get one identity per lifetime. Being Identity Theft Victims, mean  we are at a serious disadvantage. It is imperative that we use everything we can to clear our names.