Once identity thieves have access to your personal information, they can drain your bank account, rack up charges on your credit cards, open new utility accounts, or even receive medical treatment using your health insurance. Worse still, a thief could even file a tax return in your name and receive your refund.

The best way to defend yourself against identity theft is prevention. But, if that fails, you need to handle the situation properly. If you notice a mysterious charge on your credit card, or if your bank contacts you to verify the charges, your account may be at risk. If you think someone has stolen your identity, minimize the damage by following these steps.

1) Set up a fraud alert – It is important that you report that your identity has been stolen. Request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit file. A fraud alert puts a red flag on your credit report and notifies both lenders and creditors to take additional steps to confirm your identity before granting credit.

You should also request copies of your credit report from the credit reporting agencies. The credit bureaus should give you a free copy of your report if your report is inaccurate due to fraud. Please review your reports carefully to ensure that no additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes have been made to your existing accounts. To report fraud, contact …

Equifax

800.525.6285 (TTY: 800.255.0056) – PO Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069

Experian

888.397.3742 (TTY: 800.972.0322) – PO Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion

800.680.7289 (TTY: 800.553.7803) – Fraud Victim Assistance Division, PO Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634-6970

2) Contact creditors or financial institutions where fraudulent accounts have been opened. Creditors can include credit unions, banks, credit card companies, telephone companies, utilities, and other lenders. Talk to someone in each creditor’s security or fraud department and follow up with a written letter. It is also very important to notify credit card companies in writing because that is the procedure the law establishes for resolving credit card billing errors. Immediately close accounts that have been tampered with and open new ones with new personal identification numbers (PINs) and passwords. Avoid using readily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your date of birth, and the last four digits of your social security number for your PIN.

3) File a report with the local police or police where the identity theft occurred – Get a copy of the report in case the credit union, bank, credit card company or others need proof of the crime in the future.

4) File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – After you have a good idea of ​​the extent of your financial problems, you should file a report with the FTC. You only need to do this if you believe your identity has been stolen. The FTC does not handle credit card fraud, so if only one account was touched, you are probably not a victim of identity theft and do not need to file a report.

What are your next steps? Identity thieves can cause problems with your personal finances, but you can’t let them rule your life. There are a few things you can do to regain control of your financial life:

5) Identify and close the account in question – The most common way to discover compromised accounts is to detect fraudulent charges after they have been posted to your account. When you become aware of the situation, contact your financial institution as soon as possible, contest the charges, and request to block or close your account.

6) Look for other unauthorized charges – You need to check your other accounts and scan old statements to see additional charges that you don’t recognize. If you find any charges that you did not make, call your financial institution and advise them of the possible problem. You may need to suspend several of your accounts if your identity has in fact been stolen.

7) If someone has stolen your mail: new credit cards, bank statements, pre-approved credit offers, or worse, tax information; report it to your local postal inspector.

8) If you believe that an identity thief has interfered with your investments or a personal brokerage account, report it immediately to your broker or account manager and to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You can file a complaint with the SEC by visiting the Complaint Center. Be sure to include as much detail as possible.

9) If an identity thief has established a new phone service in your name; If you make unapproved calls that appear to be coming from (and are billed to) your cell phone, please contact your phone service provider immediately to cancel the account.

10) If you suspect that a user not authorized to obtain a driver’s license is using your name or Social Security number, contact your Department of Motor Vehicles.

11) If you believe someone filed for bankruptcy under your name, write to the US Trustee in the Region where the bankruptcy was filed.

12) The most important thing is to open new accounts and move on. Most financial institutions recommend opening new accounts after identity theft, even those that may not have been compromised.

Once everything is done, how do you ensure that you reduce the risk of identity theft happening again? Make sure to implement preventive measures in the future. There are many ways to make it a less likely target, and they all require less work than recovering from being a victim:

Check your credit reports regularly

Read your account and your account statements

Review your Explanation of Medical Benefits

Respond to IRS notices

Protect your personal information

Secure your social security number

Protect your data and personal information online

Most of these defensive measures are straightforward. By being diligent and protecting your personal information, you will find that you will never need these tips.