As per the 2021 Identity Fraud Study at Javelin Strategy and Research, around $56 billion was lost to identity fraud. Out of this $56 billion, $13 billion is mainly owing to the traditional form of identity fraud where the victims have no clue that their personal information was compromised.
“Personal identity information such as Social Security number, birthdate, origins, and so on are at the core of identity theft,” says Will Mendez, a cybersecurity specialist at CyZen, a cybersecurity consultancy.
Not all fraud progresses to the threshold of identity theft, and a security breach does not comprise a stolen identity within itself. Identity theft happens when a person uses your details to open new bank accounts, file tax returns, or even file false insurance records. It is not only a criminal offense that can cost you money, however, but it may also take a massive time and energy to correct.
Following are ten steps you can take if you find yourself a victim of identity fraud.
- Make a claim if you have identity theft insurance.
- Inform companies about your stolen identity.
- Submit a complaint to the FTC.
- Contact the police department in your area.
- Put up a fraud alert into your credit reports.
- Put your credit on hold.
- Register for a credit monitoring service if one is available.
- Increase the security of your accounts.
- Examine your credit reports for any suspicious bills.
- Check your personal banking statements for any unusual charges.
Make a claim if you have identity theft insurance
If you have an identity theft insurance plan, the provider should walk you through the following steps. Identity theft protection plans are available from businesses like LifeLock and Sontiq, but you may have protection through your insurance company or employer.
“You should initially call your insurance company or the human resource,” says Adam Levin, co-host of the podcast “What the Hack with Adam Levin.” Some employers provide identity theft resolution services as a perk, while insurers may include it in their products. Chubb, for example, provides its policyholders with free identity theft resolution services.
Inform companies about your stolen identity
Inform any corporation where fraudulent transactions or accounts have occurred as soon as possible. Call them right away to notify them of the problem.
Your credit card number may be affected by takeovers, but fraudsters may not have access to confidential information. Similarly, if someone imitates you, notify your health insurance company if they strive to acquire medical treatment under your name or policy number.
Submit a complaint to the FTC
The FTC collects data on identity theft cases. However, it cannot undertake criminal charges, although its knowledge could be used by security agencies such as the FBI to hunt down culprits.
To report identity theft, visit the FTC website. As part of the reporting system, you’ll start receiving a recovery plan, as well as pre-filled letters and forms for filing police reports and disputing fraudulent charges.
It’s important to remember that identity theft is defined as imitating another person or using their information for financial gain. Therefore, the FTC is not required to be notified of a stolen credit card number or a security breach.
Contact the police department in your area.
The following step is to file a police report and request a copy of your files.
“That’s a helpful guide to have,” says Donna Parent, chief marketing officer at Sontiq, a provider of intelligent security solutions. Moreover, it leaves a paper trail that may come in handy in the future. For example, if anybody uses your data to commit a felony, possessing paperwork for identity theft may aid in resolving the matter.
Although the police may be powerless to intervene if your identity has been stolen by felons internet or abroad, your report may assist them in tracking down somebody who is trying to steal data locally.
Put up a fraud alert into your credit reports.
Following that, contact the three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion and request to put up a fraud alert on your account. The fraud claim remains on your credit report for a year and alerts any organization that tries to pull your credit report that your identity may have been compromised.
“The creditor will take a gander over the candidate to make sure it’s you,” Levin says. Then, you only need to ask one of the credit bureaus for a fraud alert, and that company will notify the other two. It is entirely free to request a fraud alert.
Put your credit on hold.
Parents advice identity theft victims to place their credit cards on hold for an extra layer of security. This effectively disables access to your credit report and means that the credit bureaus will not share it with anybody who requests it.
Credit freezes can also be an effective method of protecting children from identity theft. “It can go undiscovered for a long period” if a child’s Social Security number is compromised, according to Parents. On the other hand, a credit freeze prevents anyone from opening accounts using their phone number.
To have your credit frozen, you should reach each credit agency separately. The procedure is free, and the freeze can be lifted at any time.
Register for a credit monitoring service if one is available
If your info was compromised in a security breach, you might be eligible for free credit monitoring. These services monitor credit reports for unusual activity and send notifications when a novel account is opened.
If you are not provided with free credit monitoring, you can sign up for a reputable service on your own. For example, LifeLock and IdentityForce offer credit monitoring for as little as $9.99 per month.
Increase the security of your accounts.
Now would be the time to go over your passwords, and using password manager apps, such as LastPass or Dashlane, is a simple way to ensure that all of your accounts have strong passwords. Keep a close eye on prospective problems in the future.
Examine your credit reports for any suspicious accounts
Whether you’ve been a target of credit card theft or a stolen identity, you should check your credit card reports for any accounts you don’t recognize. Your personal information may be propagated and decided to sell on the dark web after being stolen. This means that identity theft fraud is not a one-time event and may occur again in the coming years.
You have the legal right to at least one free credit report from every agency. During the pandemic, folks can even ask for a free credit report every week from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Check your personal banking statements for any unusual charges
Furthermore, check your other accounts and look through old statements for any fees you don’t recognize in your credit reports. You should check the statements for frauds, advises Parent Don’t forget to go over latent or seldomly used accounts. If you discover unidentified charges, notify the financial institution and request that the account be trapped or forced to close.
Victims of identity theft should consult with their banking firms to ascertain the best course of action to avert further damage. Most of the time, this will entail closing and reopening accounts, even if they haven’t been damaged. It can be time-consuming, but it is necessary to prevent a thief from gaining future asset possession.