Has Identity Theft Happened To You? Here's What You Should Do

Identity theft is not a game and is something that happens every week in today's economy

. If you're looking for ways to prevent identity theft and gain new piece of mind, then this article is for you. Inside of this article, we will take a look at what you should do if you've become a victim of identity theft.

The first thing you'll want to do is contact your local police department. Inform them of what happened and tell them that you want to file a police report documenting the situation. This is essential step in the process, because you'll need this information when you contact the credit bureaus. Here's what you should do next.

- Tell the 3 credit bureaus

You want to tell the credit bureaus so that they can stop the thieves before they do any more damage. Really you don't have to tell all 3 because once you tell one, they will tell all the rest of the bureaus automatically. But if you want to have piece of mind when talking to them, you should contact all 3.

After you notify the credit bureaus, they will put an alert on your credit file and will monitor any suspicious activity on it. This alert will remain on your file for 3 months and if someone tries to open up credit in your name, they will be caught red handed. You can further this alert by purchasing something called an extended fraud alert. This extended fraud alert stays on your file for 7 years and a police report will have to be submitted with it also. Along with this, here's the next thing that you should do.

- Tell the bank

You want to notify your bank of what happened and tell them that you want to close your bank accounts immediately. This will stop the thieves from taking money out of your account and prevent you from going further into the negative. Depending on your bank, they may have identity theft services that you can use to get your account on the right track. There is alot of paperwork that will be involved, so if they request anything be sure to give them what they're looking for.

- Tell your lenders

These should be one of the first people that you contact regarding the identity theft that has happened to you. You want to tell them so that they can close your accounts and stop the thieves from using any more of the available credit that you have in your accounts.

After a while when things have settled down, you may want to start new credit card accounts. When selecting pins for your cards, don't use any of the numbers that you used previously. Refrain from using your birth date, social security number, or even your kid's birth dates as your pin numbers. This should be common sense, but it bares repeating because it goes undone so many times.

Take these 4 tips and use them right now if identity theft has happened to you.

Good luck restoring your good name and protecting your identity.

Has Identity Theft Happened To You? Here's What You Should Do

By: Adrian Hargray

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