Steps to Take After Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft
According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 8 million Americans have their identity stolen every year. The faith that Americans have with the security of the Internet and government offices is declining. Even in the UK, citizens are losing faith in the security of their personal records and information, especially after an employee in London lost a computer disc containing personal details of 25 million people.
What You Do If It Happens To You
If you are the victim of identity theft, there are several actions you are going to want to take. One of those actions includes getting a general practice attorney , a contract attorney or an attorney litigation trial expert in cases revolving identity theft. The next thing you should do is report the crime to the authorities, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Then, once you have found the right attorney for you, specializing in identity theft for your state, then you can proceed to take further actions. For example, you would want an Arkansas lawyer to take your case on if you are living in Arkansas or Nebraska lawyer , etc. Every state handles every case differently, depending on your state's laws.
Next, get a credit freeze on all of your credit cards and notify the bank immediately and let them know that you are an identity theft victim. Any new credit card accounts that were open in your name that you did not personally open, close immediately with a phone call as well as in writing. If debt collectors start calling you, get the debt collectors information and the names of the people calling you, let them know that you are the victim of identity theft. You must keep a clean documented record of everything that you have done to prove that you are the victim in order to avoid major court issues. It may take you years to overcome the damage that an identity theft criminal has caused, but there are ways to prevent identity theft from happening in the first place.
Preventing Identity Theft
-avoid internet purchases
-shred documents
-get a safe and put all of your original documents inside them.
-get identity theft insurance
-Pay with cash instead of debit cards
-Let banks and creditors know when you are going on vacation and have them contact you with any suspicious banks charges.
Until there are more secure advances in how our information is protected, there will be identity theft. But you can be smart about how you give your personal information out to strangers.
What You Do If It Happens To You
If you are the victim of identity theft, there are several actions you are going to want to take. One of those actions includes getting a general practice attorney , a contract attorney or an attorney litigation trial expert in cases revolving identity theft. The next thing you should do is report the crime to the authorities, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Then, once you have found the right attorney for you, specializing in identity theft for your state, then you can proceed to take further actions. For example, you would want an Arkansas lawyer to take your case on if you are living in Arkansas or Nebraska lawyer , etc. Every state handles every case differently, depending on your state's laws.
Next, get a credit freeze on all of your credit cards and notify the bank immediately and let them know that you are an identity theft victim. Any new credit card accounts that were open in your name that you did not personally open, close immediately with a phone call as well as in writing. If debt collectors start calling you, get the debt collectors information and the names of the people calling you, let them know that you are the victim of identity theft. You must keep a clean documented record of everything that you have done to prove that you are the victim in order to avoid major court issues. It may take you years to overcome the damage that an identity theft criminal has caused, but there are ways to prevent identity theft from happening in the first place.
Preventing Identity Theft
-avoid internet purchases
-shred documents
-get a safe and put all of your original documents inside them.
-get identity theft insurance
-Pay with cash instead of debit cards
-Let banks and creditors know when you are going on vacation and have them contact you with any suspicious banks charges.
Until there are more secure advances in how our information is protected, there will be identity theft. But you can be smart about how you give your personal information out to strangers.