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Facts for Consumers Using Credit Cards

If you suspect that your personal information

has been used to commit

fraud or theft, take the following four

steps right away.

1.Place a fraud alert on your credit reports

and review them.

Contact any one of the nationwide consumer

reporting companies to place a fraud alert on

your credit report. Fraud alerts can help

prevent an identity thief from opening any more

accounts in your name. The company you call is

required to contact the other two, which will

place an alert on their versions of your

report, too.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285;

www.equifax.com

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN

(397-3742); www.experian.com

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289;

www.transunion.com

In addition to placing the fraud alert on your

file, the three consumer reporting companies will

send you free copies of your credit reports, and,

if you ask, they will display only the last four

digits of your Social Security number on your

credit reports.

2.Close the accounts that you know, or

believe, have been tampered with or opened

fraudulently.

Contact the security or fraud department of

each company where you know, or believe,

accounts have been tampered with or opened

fraudulently. Follow up in writing, and include

copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents.

It’s important to notify credit card companies

and banks in writing. Send your letters by

certified mail,and request a return receipt so you

can document what the company received and

when. Keep a file of your correspondence and

enclosures.

When you open new accounts, use new

Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and

passwords. Avoid using easily available

information like your mother’s maiden name,

your birth date, the last four digits of your Social

Security number or your phone number, or a

series of consecutive numbers.

3.File a report with your local police or the

police in the community where the identity theft

took place.

Get a copy of the police report or, at the very

least, the number of the report. It can help you

deal with creditors who need proof of the crime.

If the police are reluctant to take your report,

ask to file a “Miscellaneous Incidents” report, or

try another jurisdiction, like your state police.

You also can check with your state Attorney

General’s office to find out if state law requires

the police to take reports for identity theft.

Check the Blue Pages of your telephone

directory for the phone number or check

www.naag.org for a list of state Attorneys

General.

4.File a complaint with the Federal Trade

Commission.

By sharing your identity theft complaint with

the FTC, you will provide important information

that can help law enforcement officials across

the nation track down identity thieves and stop

them. The FTC also can refer your complaint to

other government agencies and companies for

further action, as well as investigate companies

for violations of laws that the FTC enforces.

You can file a complaint online at

ftc.gov/idtheft. If you don’t have Internet access,

call the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free:

1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); TTY:

1-866-653-4261; or write: Identity Theft

Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission,

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC 20580.

For more information, see Take Charge:

Fighting Back Against Identity Theft at

ftc.gov/idtheft. 

Bankruptcy Basics - For Cases Filed on or after October 17, 2005 (pdf)
Bankruptcy Basics - For Cases Filed before October 17, 2005 (pdf)

   

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