subject: Identity Theft - Important Steps You Must Take Right Away To Rebuild Your Life Again [print this page] You are a victim of identity theft and it came as a shock to you. You never thought that you can be affected by this growing crime that affects millions of people. You want to know what needs to be done and wants to do it at once.
Once you know that you are a victim of identity theft, you cannot let the day go by without starting to take action to straighten things out. Thieves can wipe everything that you have build for your life to have a better future. It will all be gone if they have not gone that far yet, if you do not take the right action right now.
Know that there are things that you can do to help you get out of this mess. You have to face the fact that however far the thieves have gone from stealing your identity can affect how long you can ever recover from its effects. You may need to do more research as you go along to be able to do it all.
Here are the steps that can help you recover from identity theft.
1. Call the three credit bureaus and report any fraudulent activity in your credit report. Thieves can still reopen the credit cards you have cancelled and/or reopen a new account. They have all your personal information so it is easy for them to do this just like you are doing it on your own. Make sure that you have a fraud alert on your file.
2. Call each one of your creditors or any institutions where your information has been misused. You need to follow it up in writing to dispute the accounts affected and you need to get a letter from each one of them that they are resolving these disputed/fraudulent activities.
3. Call your local police department and report the crime right away. Obtain a police report about this matter. This will give proof that a crime has been committed.
4. Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report, identity theft department, to report the crime.
