What To Do if Your Identity Is Stolen: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide

While identity theft is serious, there are clear, actionable steps you can take to recover. This includes placing a fraud alert on your credit account, reviewing your credit reports, filing a police report, and considering whether to implement a credit freeze.

You do not have to go through this process alone. If you need legal guidance with your stolen identity issue, you can use the Super Lawyers directory to find an experienced consumer law attorney to help.

Warning Signs of Identity Theft

Identity theft can happen to anyone at any time. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently reported that it received over a million reports of identity theft. But there are likely many more cases that go unreported.

Unfortunately, it has become all too common: unfamiliar charges on a bank statement, unexpected credit denials, bills in the mail addressed to you for accounts you didn’t open, or a notice from the IRS about duplicate tax filings. Although this can be a nightmare to discover, it’s important not to get paralyzed by the initial shock.

Acting quickly and decisively after you notice the warning signs that your identity has been stolen is critical. Some savvy consumers find it helpful to set up credit monitoring alerts from a credit monitoring service before identity theft occurs. This is especially true for individuals whose personal or financial information is exposed as part of a data breach.

Step-By-Step: What To Do Immediately

If your identity has already been stolen, consider taking the following steps to recover.

Place a Fraud Alert

Placing a fraud alert on your credit records instructs lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity. To place a fraud alert on your credit records, you can contact any of the three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

By contacting one of the credit bureaus, you can request free fraud alerts, a credit freeze, an active duty alert, and opt-outs from prescreened credit offers. When you contact one of the credit bureaus, they are required to notify the other two. Unless you request an extended fraud alert, it lasts for one year and does not affect your credit score.

Review Your Credit Reports

To obtain a free copy of your credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com. This website allows you to obtain your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus at no cost.

Federal law requires you to have access to your credit report for free once every 12 months. In fact, the three major credit bureaus allow you to access your report online every week, for free. Regularly monitoring your credit reports is the best measure you can take to check for unauthorized accounts opened in your name.

Report to the FTC

The FTC is the federal agency charged with enforcing consumer protection laws. It maintains a website, IdentityTheft.gov. It is the federal government’s one-stop resource for identity theft victims. IdentityTheft.gov provides streamlined checklists and sample letters to guide you through the recovery process.

When you make a report with the FTC, it generates a personalized recovery plan and an official FTC Identity Theft Report, which may assist as you work with various companies to clear your name and work through the steps of identity theft recovery.

File a Police Report

In some instances, especially when large amounts are involved, filing a police report should be part of your recovery process. You file a police report with your local police. Some larger departments may have an identity theft division or fraud department specifically designed to take such reports and investigate.

Even if you do not consider your case substantial, or doubt that your case will ever be investigated, it still helps to file a report. By filing a report with your local police, you will have documented your case. As you proceed through the recovery process, debt collectors or creditors may require documentation of your loss. By having the police report, you will be able to meet those requirements.

Notify Affected Institutions

Being proactive when your identity is stolen is critical. Even before you have knowledge that all of your accounts have been impacted by identity theft, you should contact your bank, credit card issuers, and other affected companies.

You can change passwords and PIN numbers. You can also implement two-factor authentication for accounts that allow it. Any additional safeguards you can take with your personal identification numbers, such as your Social Security number, will go a long way in preventing further damage or future instances of identity theft.

Consider a Credit Freeze

A credit freeze is a step you can take to restrict access to your credit report. Placing a credit freeze can help protect you from fraud. When you place a security freeze, most new creditors will not be able to access your credit report. This generally helps prevent new credit accounts from being opened in your name, although certain entities, such as existing creditors reviewing your account, may still have access under federal law.

A credit freeze prevents new credit from being opened in your name, whether fraudulent or legitimate. You will need to lift your credit freeze, either permanently or temporarily, to apply for credit yourself.

You can freeze or lift the freeze on your credit report by contacting each of the three major credit reporting agencies.

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

This free service can help you stop future identity theft or prevent it altogether if your information has become compromised.

How To Repair the Damage

The Federal Trade Commission provides a wealth of information relating to your consumer law rights and recovering from identity theft. For example, you have the right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to dispute fraudulent accounts, request that fraudulent information be blocked from your credit reports, and correct errors in your credit report.

Can You Get Compensated for Your Financial Losses?

Whether compensation is available for your financial losses depends on the situation and the applicable federal and state laws. Compensation may cover:

• Actual financial losses
• Legal fees
• Statutory damages

In some cases, attorneys who specialize in identity theft and consumer law may pursue claims on a contingency basis. This means that there will be no upfront cost to you.

When Should You Get a Lawyer Involved?

Use the steps in this article and those provided by the FTC and other resources to begin recovering from a stolen identity. However, certain situations call for legal help. These can include:

• Creditors refusing to remove fraudulent accounts
• Debt collectors harassing you for debts you don’t owe
• Criminal charges filed under your name
• Significant financial losses

A consumer law attorney can communicate with creditors on your behalf and help to restore your financial standing more efficiently than you would be able to do by yourself.

Consult an Attorney Who Can Help with Your Identity Theft

Legal help doesn’t have to be intimidating or outrageously expensive. Take the first step by talking with a lawyer to see how they can help in your situation.

Contact an experienced consumer law attorney in your area for help.