Chapter 6 – Help! My Identity Was Stolen
Having your identity stolen is devastating, both financially and emotionally. Unfortunately, no matter how many precautions you take to stop identity thieves, they are smart enough to disappear into the woodwork — and, in the process, steal your identity. Once you find out that your identity was stolen, how you react means everything. If you panic, you will only do more damage to yourself and your credit. Keep your cool and work quickly to begin the repair.
Warning Signs that Your Identity is in Trouble
If you are proactive, the warning signs that your identity is stolen should be very easy to spot – your credit score will suddenly drop or your credit cards will suddenly be maxed out. Well, in most cases – there are many different kinds of identity theft, remember. So, even if you follow all of the prevention tips listed in this book, you could still be at risk, and you might go weeks or months (or even years) without realizing it. In addition to noticing and following up on anything suspicious you see in your financial accounts, look for the following warning signs of identity theft:
• You do not get a bill or account statement as you normally do. This may mean that someone is having your mail forwarded to them to avoid you catching any mistakes on your account.
• A collection agency contacts you about an account that you do not have – it may not even be in your name.
• You apply for credit and are denied, even though you thought your credit was excellent. Always get a reason if you are denied.
• Your credit card is rejected when you try to make a purchase, even though you know you had enough balance to cover your purchases.
• You suddenly begin getting an abnormal number of e-mails, most of them spam or phishing in nature.
• Someone has tampered with your garbage. They may have been “dumpster diving” – a popular offline way to steal identities.
• You notice personal information about yourself being posted on the Internet.
• Here is one that you need to consider if you have children – your child should not be receiving junk mail. A company should not spend the time or money sending someone who is not 18 information about stuff for which they cannot apply. It is a sign that someone is taking advantage of your child’s identity.
How to Read Your Credit Report
Experts agree — once a year you should get a copy of your own credit history report. Checking your credit is not difficult. You can do it online for free by visiting the Web sites of the three major credit-reporting bureaus or you can go to a catch-all site like www.annualcreditreport.com, where you can find all three. Usually, if there is a mistake on one due to your identity being stolen, there will be a mistake on all three, but this is not always the case. It really depends on your situation. In any case, there are three major credit reporters – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, and all three have credit reporting systems that look very similar. Once you order your free credit report, however, you may have trouble understanding what it means. Credit is reported in certain ways to make the process most efficient for people who really need the information, like lenders. You do not need a decoder ring to understand it, too — simply learn a bit about credit reports and you will be well on your way to catching anything out of the ordinary.
Breaking Down the Credit Report
Every credit report is broken into four major sections to help you find information more easily. For someone who does not know how to read a credit report, the information may seem hidden in a weird place, but in actuality, this sectioning process makes everything uniform and easier to find.
First, you will see a section called identifying information. In this section of the credit report, you will find just that — information that identifies you. This is crucial because there are millions and millions of people in the United States. There are bound to be a few people who have the same name as you and maybe even a few people who have the same birthday. Before you begin panicking about loans you did not know you had, check to ensure that the report is really yours.
Information found in the first section includes your name, your current address, past addresses, your birthday, any telephone numbers associated with you now or in the past, your driver’s license number or state ID number, the name of your spouse, the name of your current employers, and your social security number. All the correct information should be listed first. However, be aware that incorrect variations may also be listed. This is especially common if you have a name that is hard to spell or if you have moved often in the past. When information is reported incorrectly, the variations stick with your credit report. It is easier to follow up on a dispute about the variations if they are still listed than it is if they have been deleted. Do not worry about the variations. That does not mean that there will be any mistakes on your credit history report. A red flag you should go up if there are incorrect variations and if you see something that is obviously very wrong. For example, if your name is Michael Jones and a variation is listed as David Johnson, you may want to question it.
Next, you will find a section called “credit history,” which is made up of all the individual accounts you have ever opened. These accounts are known as trade lines. For each trade line, you will see listed the date you opened the account, the name or names on the account, the total amount of the loan or credit limit, how much you currently owe, the amount you pay every month if applicable, the type of loan (installments, which will be paid off eventually, or revolving, which is a continuous line of credit), and the status of the account (open, paid, closed, or inactive). There will also be a record of how well you have repaid the loan every month. If you have paid on time and in full, you will see a better rating obviously, but even if you only skipped one payment a year and a half ago, it will still show up as a blemish on your credit history report.
The third section on your credit history report is called “public records.” Best-case scenario, this section will be blank. If there is information, it means that you have had financially related problems with the law or government in the past. It will not list criminal activities, but it will list bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, and other judgments against you.
Finally, there will be a section called inquiries. An inquiry is a request to see your credit report, and having too many inquiries may mean that your credit score lowers. There are two kinds of inquiries — hard and soft. Soft inquiries are those done by pre-approved credit cards or other things that you have not personally applied for. They do not really have a bearing on your credit score, and your one personal credit check counts as a soft inquiry once a year. A hard inquiry indicates any credit check that you initiated, such as when you apply for a loan or open a new credit card account. Too many hard inquiries will lower your score because it means that you are attempting to take out lots of loans at once or that you have been turned down by many lenders and have had to apply again and again.
Decoding the Credit Code
In addition to separating the credit report into four organized sections, the credit bureaus also use different codes to more concisely fit everything onto the report. These codes are found in the second section where your accounts are listed. The exact codes used may differ from report to report depending on the agency, but in general, here are the letters of significance:
• I: This is an individual account that is under your sole responsibility.
• J: The account is a joint account, usually between a husband and wife or business partners.
• A: You are an authorized user of the account, but are not responsible for paying it. This is most common when a parent gives a child access to his or her credit card.
• U: The account is undesignated.
• M: You were the maker of the account.
• T: The account has been terminated.
• C: You are the co-signer or the co-maker of the account.
• S: The account is shared.
Under “status” you may see a word or letter, depending on the reporting agency. You will often also see a number ranging from 0 to 9. Here is what they mean:
• O: The account is open.
• R: The account is revolving. That means that it is not a loan that you are working to repay. It is a line of credit that you repay bit by bit, like a credit card.
• I: The account is paid in installments.
• 0: The account is too new to rate in any way.
• 1: You have paid or are paying the account as agreed.
• 2: You are one or two payments behind.
• 3: You are three payments behind.
• 4: You are four payments behind.
• 5: You are more than four payments or 120 days behind.
• 7: Regular payments are being made, but only under taxing your wages.
• 8: A repossession occurred.
• 9: The debt is being actively investigated by a collections agency or court.
Each credit bureau also has codes for describing other aspects, but these vary from union to union. You are likely to find codes for inactive accounts, lost or stolen credit cards, refinanced loans, deaths, foreclosure, bankruptcy, adjustments, and more. Luckily, when you order a credit report, the key for these codes should also be made available to you. Make sure you understand exactly what you are reading, and if anything seems fishy, do not hesitate to call with your questions. That is their job — making sure that your credit is reported correctly. In the case of an identity theft, you may need a lot of help to fix your credit reports.
Who to Contact
As soon as you suspect that your identity is at risk, it is important to make it well-known. However, most people have no idea who to contact and what to do. The key is to avoid panicking. By thinking clearly and quickly contacting the following people, you can make sure that identity thieves are stopping in their tracks. It may to too late to prevent identity theft, but you do not have to sit back and just let it happen to you. Take action to catch the bad guys.
Credit Reporting Bureaus
If you suspect identity theft for any reason, your first step is to confirm it. Occasionally, there are simply are mistakes that have not resulted from identity theft. The best way to confirm that your identity has been stolen is to contact the major credit reporting companies and get a copy of your credit report. You can also place a fraud flag on your reports and, if you live in certain states, you can “freeze” your account until the matter is cleared.
Equifax
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-800-525-6285
Experian
Consumer Fraud Assistance
PO Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Division
PO Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834
1-800-680-7289
The Authorities
It is easy to forget that identity theft is a really serious crime, since no one is pointing a gun at you or breaking into your house. Keep this in mind at all times – identity theft is one of the most serious crimes in the world. Who better to contact to report a crime than the police?
Start by reporting the identity theft to your local police in the area where you live, as the crime most likely took place in your neighborhood. Your local police may not be able to help you clear up many of the problems, as there is a limit as to what they can do. However, what they can do, which is very important, is issue a report documenting the identity theft. It is crucial to have this documentation when you try to prove to creditors that your identity really was stolen.
You should also contact the authorities in any place related to the identity theft. This may mean contacting dozens of different police stations, but it is important to do so and to have a copy of the police report mailed to you for each one. Check out where the faulty charges occurred. If the criminal took your credit card and drove to the next state to make charges, you need to call the police in that area to report the problem.
For each police report issued, talk to the police in person or directly on the telephone and get the name and contact information of the person who issued the report. This information will be necessary later when proving your innocence. It is also good to have a record of anyone who helped to catch the criminal in the chance that he or she is caught and the case goes to court.
Creditors
When you find out that your identity has been compromised, you will have the overwhelming urge to yell at anyone involved. However, remember that the creditors are victims in this situation as well. Try as they might, the identity thief will most likely never be caught, which means that they will not be able to recover some of the money they are out from the fraudulent sales or loans. Creditors are on your side.
First, contact any creditor that is showing up as new on your credit history report. This will happen when the thief opens new accounts in your name, takes out loans in your name, and so forth. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a creditor cannot report and fraudulent activity that occurred in your name without your knowledge. Note that you will have to prove that your identity really was stolen, which usually means having the police report, as well as a dispute claim.
You also need to contact all of your current creditors, whether or not they have been affected by the identity theft. Everyone needs to be made aware that your identity was stolen and that everything is a mess at the moment. Some creditors, like a creditor card company, may be directly affected by the crime because the thief used your credit card. Contract these companies first. Other creditors, like your mortgage company, may have floated through the mess untouched. However, when you are done contacting the affected companies, you need to contact the rest as well. Let them know why your interest rate has dropped so significantly and why your credit history report is frozen or flagged. Keeping them “in the know” now can help prevent unnecessary confusion later.
The Federal Trade Commission
Sharing your identity theft experience with the Federal Trade Commission is one of the best ways to help catch identity thieves – perhaps even the one that personally attacked you. The Federal Trade Commission will contact the local authorities handling your case and share valuable information, especially if the case is high-profile or a link in a long chain of crimes by the same person.
In addition, the Federal Trade Commission can help investigate the policies that made your identity theft possible. It is not always an issue with something that you have done to make your identity and personal information susceptible. If a merchant or creditor is putting your information at risk, which is often the case, the Federal Trade Commission can investigate their policies and force changes so that other people do not experience similar identity messes.
With a complaint report from the Federal Trade Commission, you can also put more weight on your situation. When reporting your identity theft to creditors, you have to actually prove that there is a problem. Otherwise, people would buy expensive items and claim identity theft all of the time, just to get out of paying for things! Although having a dispute claim should help to prove your case, by going a step farther and actually registering the problem with the Federal Trade Commission, you can lend more credibility to your situation.
To contact the Federal Trade Commission:
Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
1-877-438-4338
Complaint form: https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/widtpubl$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU03
Other Important Steps to Take
Dealing with identity theft is a lot of work. That’s the most major downfall. Although you may have identity theft insurance or protection with your accounts to pay for fraudulent charges, it still takes hours and hours of time over the course of many weeks, or even months, to clear up the problems. After you have contacted the appropriate people, make sure that you take the following steps as well.
Close Accounts That Have Been Compromised
When you contact your accounts, especially credit cards, you should freeze them until the matter is cleared up. However, if you unfreeze the cards and continue using them, the identity thief still has relevant information about that account and can attack again or, worse yet, sell that information to the next person who can launch and entirely new attack from someone else in the country – or world!
After you and your credit card company have resolved any disputes surrounding your credit card account (or bank account, or whatever kind of account you have opened), ask both over the phone and in writing that the account be closed. Keep a record of this communication. Ask also that they send you written notification that your account has been closed and all charges have been resolved. File this communication so that it cannot come back to haunt you in the future.
You may then choose to open new accounts. Make sure that these new accounts are not linked in any way to your old, attacked account. You may, in fact, wish to open accounts with another credit card company altogether, which is the safest option. However, wait until all issues with the identity theft are resolved before you apply for a new card. Otherwise, you may find that your interest rate is extremely high due to your falsely inflated credit score.
Consider Getting a New Credit Card
If your identity has really been abused, you may wish to obtain a new Social Security number. However, the Social Security Administration does not hand out new numbers lightly. If they did, people would not protect their Social Security number at all; they would be disposable. Eventually, the numbers would run out and need to be reused, which opens a Pandora’s box. That said, if your Social Security number has been involved in a high-scale identity theft crime, you should apply for a new one. Here is how to go about doing it:
1. Download a copy of the application to get the new Social Security number. You can find applications online at www.ssa.gov.
2. Provide proof that you are a U.S. citizen by providing your birth certificate or immigration papers.
3. Prove that you are who you say you are by providing your U.S. driver’s license, non-driver identity card, or U.S. Passport. In special circumstances, when these things have been lost, you may also provide your employee ID card, school ID card, health insurance card, U.S. military ID, and/or adoption decree.
4. If you have changed your name since birth, you will need to provide documentation of that as well. This may include your marriage license, divorce decree, certificate of naturalization showing the new name, or court order for a name change. In addition, you must show identity documents with both names and recent photographs.
Every state has local offices so that you can contact the Social Security Administration with any questions you may have without having to drive all the way to their headquarters in Maryland. However, if you do wish to write to the Social Security Administration, their Office of Public Inquires is the best way to go. Write them at:
Social Security Administration
Office of Public Inquiries
Windsor Park building
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235
You can also call toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time on Mondays through Fridays. In addition, recorded information is available 24 hours a day if you have a common question that you need to be answered. Note that when you call, you may be asked for your social security number to track questions. In this case, you can give it out without worry, although you should make sure that you are in a private case when reciting it over the phone.
A Note About Dealing With Companies that Do Not Believe You
Sometimes discovering your identity has been stolen is not the end of your problems. Unfortunately, sometimes you will have issues dealing with companies who might not believe your identity has been stolen. It will be your job to prove your innocence.
First of all, if you are attempting to deal with banks or credit card companies that might not believe your credit has been stolen, you might feel as if you are fighting an uphill battle. The first thing that you need to do is make sure that you have kept your own very close records. Go through the bank statement and the online statements very carefully and keep track of everything that you see. Be sure that you are writing down and keeping careful track of what your purchases are and what purchases are not yours.
Then, you need to talk to the company about your situation. Even if they do not believe you, it is important that you remain calm and that your story is always the same. A story that wavers is not going to get you very far, so be sure that you are absolutely sure about what you have purchased and what you have not. Please remember that remaining calm is something that is always important.
The next thing that you have to remember is that each time your credit cards are used, there should be a record. Therefore, if your credit card company is saying that you made purchases that you did not, you have every right to ask them to show you the proof. There should be credit card receipts that show when and where the card was used. After you have these, there are several things that you can do. You can attempt to prove that the signature is not yours. You can also attempt to prove that you were not in the place where the transaction took place. If it was done online, you can also ask to find out what computer made that transaction, and then you can prove that it was not your computer.
These are all important ways that you can deal with a company that does not believe your identity has been stolen. It is most important that you are able to keep a calm head and that you have your own records for proof. You should also keep all of the proof that you find on your own, so that if you ever have problems with a company dealing with your credit because of your identity theft. You want to be sure that you are able to do these things right away. Keeping your own careful records is the best way you have to keep your own credit.