If you learn that you have become a victim of identity theft you must be prepared to take immediate and decisive action. By acting quickly, you can lessen the damage.
You will most likely discover that your identity has been stolen when you receive a collection phone call from a credit card company or a vendor. You may also become aware of the theft when you see bogus charges on your credit card statement.
Your first action must be to obtain copies of your credit reports from all three national credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Credit reports are available to you at no cost by mail or on-line, but often you have to wait 10 to 15 days for the free reports. Given the importance of speed, you should be prepared to spend the $15 each for a credit report.
Do not use one of your current credit cards to order a credit report. Since you will be canceling all of your credit cards, you will not want any legitimate new charges to appear. Instead, use a friend or relative's credit card to purchase your credit reports.
Once you have credit reports in hand, you should call each and every credit card lender to notify the lender that you have been a victim of identity theft, to request a cancelation of your card and to request the reissue of a replacement card with a different number.
You should create an "identity theft" notebook, with one page dedicated to each lender. Every time you speak to a lender, log your call and the name of the individual with whom you spoke. Also, ask the customer service representative for a mailing address and direct phone number for the identity fraud unit.
After ever substantive call with the credit card company, you should send a follow-up letter - preferably to a specific person. Mail should be sent return receipt requested.
Non-credit card lenders such as mortage lenders, car loan lenders, furniture and jewlerly lenders and student loan lenders should also be notified about the identity theft. These lenders should be put on notice so that you reduce your chances at suffering adverse interest rate consequences in the future. Request that these non-credit card lenders issue you a new loan number. The more distance you can put between your existing account numbers and your post-identity theft existence the better.
You will discover that many affected lenders will ask for a police report. You should therefore be prepared to file a police report in your jurisdiction reporting the identity theft crime. Keep a copy of this police report handy as you will be sending out copies on a regular basis.
A lesser known, but valuable tool in your response to identity theft can be a public records search. In my law office, we use the Lexis-Nexis service to run a public records search on our consumer bankruptcy clients. You will find that many consumer bankruptcy lawyers in your area also subscribe to Lexis-Nexis - most would be happy to run a public records search for you at a minimal charge or for free.
Recently, a physician colleague of mine asked me for assistance when he discovered that his identity had been stolen. When I ran a Lexis-Nexis search, I discovered that the bogus charges made in his name all came from a small city in Texas. It turned out that the identity thief had used his own address for a product delivery and using Lexis-Nexis, I was able to cross check the address to produce a name. While I cannot be sure that the individual living at this address was the identity thief, we at least had a lead.
More importantly, I was able to advise my client to file a second police report in the Texas city and to provide the Texas authorities with a copy of the Lexis-Nexis report.
Because identity theft can follow you for months of years, you should be prepared to obtain copies of your credit reports at least every three months for the next 18 months to two years. Every time you see a derogatory entry arising from the identity theft you need to write a letter to both the credit bureau and to the reporting lender. Be prepared to repeatedly submit copies of your police reports and copies of previous letters already sent. Credit card companies often use collection centers in different cities. Collection personnel may not speak to one another and they may not share files. Be prepared to tell your story, with documentation, over and over.
Jonathan Ginsberg has practiced consumer bankruptcy law in Atlanta, Georgia for over 20 years. In addition to representing debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, Jonathan serves as a continuing education instructor, assisting other lawyers learn about new bankruptcy law developments and practice management skills.
His consumer bankruptcy web sites include www.atlanta-bankruptcy-attorney.com and a consumer bankruptcy blog at www.thebklawyer.com/thebkblog
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