Are You a Victim of Credit Card Fraud or Identity Theft?

1)  Report the crime to the police immediately. Get a copy of the police report or case number. Credit card companies, the bank, or insurance companies may ask for the reference to verify the crime.

Credit card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

2)  Immediately contact the credit card issuers. Get replacement cards with new account numbers and ask that the old account be processed as “account closed at consumer’s request” for credit record purposes. Follow up with a letter to the credit card company that summarizes the request in writing.

3)  Call the fraud units of the three credit reporting bureaus to report the theft. Ask that the accounts be flagged. Also, add a victim’s statement to the report requesting contact to verify future credit applications.

•    Equifax Credit Information Services—Consumer Fraud Division     

 P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374  Call: (888) 766-0008

 Website: www.equifax.com

•    Experian, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013-9554

 Call: (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742)  Website: www.experian.com

•    Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Department

 P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834  Call: (800) 680-7289

 Website: www.transunion.com

4)  Notify the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General if the Social Security number has been used fraudulently.

5)  File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

•    By phone:

 Toll-free 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338),

 TTY 1-866-653-4261

•    By mail: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580 • Website: www.consumer.ftc.gov • For consumer information: 

www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.htm

Related articles

• Don't You Dare Pay for These 3 Credit Services - They're Already Free (mint.com)
• Jewel-Osco Warns Customers Of Data Breach (chicago.cbslocal.com)