Article Advise

submitted: Jun 2nd 2008 | by: PaulWilcox | Total views: 2 | Word Count: 399 | |

You have always prided yourself on meeting your financial obligations. Those obligations consisted of making credit card payments prior to their due date, having only a few credit cards, taking advantage of low interest rates because of your responsible actions, etc.

Recently you've noticed that a few strange things have been going on and you're wondering if you've been an identity theft victim. You've been receiving some phone calls from debt collectors, a credit card has arrived in the mail that you didn't request or maybe you've even been turned down for a revolving charge card because you didn't make payments on something else.

These things may be pointing to the fact that you've become a victim of identity theft. If you think this may have happened, there are a couple of things that you need to do right away, such as notifying fraud departments, check your credit report and definitely report your situation to the police.

Report the Problem to Fraud Departments

If you've become an identity theft victim, the first thing you need to do is report it to the fraud department of the three credit bureaus. They are Experian, Equifax and Transunion. You can choose to report just to one of the bureaus as they will pass it on to the others so that they are all aware.

As soon as the credit bureau is notified of the identification theft, they will flag the accounts of the person. When accounts are flagged, the potential creditors will have to call the person applying for credit personally.

If you've reported your identity theft, as a victim you can expect your personal account to be flagged for 90 days. After the flagging you will be notified that this has been done and given a list of other rights for victims.

Once this notification has been received, the individual can request a free copy of their credit report. In addition, it is strongly suggested that a formal request be made to the three bureaus. That request should ask that their flagged account be extended from 90 days to 7 years.

Check over your credit report closely to look for items that seem out of place. If you find questionable entries you should inform the credit bureaus of them. After reporting the fraudulent activity, the credit bureau is under no obligation to reveal it to others who are authorized to look at your personal credit report.

About the Author

Is your computer as secure as it need to be? Find out what you need to be doing to keep it safe from viruses, spyware and other internet security threats at the Online Security Toolkit website. Visit http://www.onlinesecuritytoolkit.com for more information.

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