What to do right away

Did someone steal and use your personal information? Act quickly to limit the damage.

• Contact your financial institution or credit card issuer immediately.
• Contact one of the three credit reporting agencies and place an Initial Fraud Alert.
• Get copies of your credit reports and examine them carefully; dispute any errors with the credit reporting company.
• Report to Federal Trade Commission and obtain an Identity Theft Affidavit.
• File a police report and show your FTC Affidavit.
• Close any new accounts that you didn’t open.
• Call Social Security Administration.
• Keep detailed records of communications with creditors, credit bureaus, etc.
• Contact the IRS.

Here is a more comprehensive list of steps that you can take in the case of Identity Theft.