What Steps To Take If You're Dealing With Identity Theft

submitted: Aug 25th 2008 | by: PaulWilcox | Total views: 3 | Word Count: 289 | PDF View | Print Article

Identity theft is a popular crime today. But unlike other crimes, the victims of identity theft often are unaware that a crime has been committed until after the damage to their credit and their name has been done.

Is it possible to know if your identity has been stolen before drastic damage has occurred? Here are some hints for stopping identity theft:

Criminals will often apply for new loans or credit cards under a false name, using a stolen identity. You should contact a lender or creditor if you begin to receive letters of approval or phone calls of acceptance for loans to which you have not applied.

This is a warning sign that something is wrong, and you can save yourself a lot of hassle by investigate further.

If you suddenly stop receiving bills or credit card statements, this is another indicator that you may be the victim of identity theft. Often a criminal assuming another person's identity will change the address on that person's bills so they are unaware that someone else is using their credit cards until it is too late.

Know when your monthly bills are supposed to arrive, and if they are late, call your credit card company. Be vigilant about your bills and thwart identity theft before too much damage is done.

A pretty obvious indicator that you are the victim of identity theft is seeing charges on your credit card bills that are not from you. Contact your credit card company and report the unauthorized use of your card.

If you do not play close attention to your credit card bill, this indicator of identity theft can go unnoticed. By closely handling your finances and watching your accounts you can stop identity theft before it gets out of hand.

About the Author

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


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