Report ID Theft

Has your wallet or purse been stolen or lost recently? Have you observed "strange" transactions or abnormalities with your credit cards? Have began receiving credit card statements for accounts that you are not aware of or, have you been missing the last few statements you have been expecting?

You maybe the victim of Identity Theft. This year(2013), Georgia ranks second in the nation in cases of identity theft. Recovering from identity theft can take months or years and can incur drastically significant cost.

If you suspect that you are a victim, here are some helpful tips that may help you recover sooner and avoid further damage. As with reporting any criminal activity, the sooner you react, the better your chances are as a victim.

1. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.

2. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the Federal Trade Commission's "ID Theft Affidavit" when disputing new unauthorized accounts.

3. File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

4. File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist you.

With Georgia becoming the third state in the nation to pass an Identity Theft law in 1998, it also created an excellent resource of information with the "Georgia Stop Identity Theft Network". This site addresses tips for Identity Theft prevention, help for victims, help for businesses and, help for law enforcement officials along with a host of other types of information for Georgia residents.