Protecting Your Identity
The Crime | Play Defense | Go on Offense | Ask for Help
Go on Offense
Here are some of the steps you should take if you suspect you have fallen victim to ID thieves:
- Check bank and credit card statements for unfamiliar charges. If you see any, call your account provider immediately.
- Ask for a credit report. See if any accounts were opened in your name, without your knowledge, and ask that inaccurate or obsolete information be removed. You get one free report per year from any of the three national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com, or www.equifax.com, www.experian.com or www.transunion.com.
- File a “Fraud Alert” with Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The national credit bureau you choose is required to contact the other two, which will place the alert on their credit reports, too.
Here are some of the steps you should take if you are a victim of ID theft:
- Report the ID theft to your local law enforcement agency.
- Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Be sure to call the company involved, follow up in writing and send by certified mail.
- File an ID theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- Consider requesting an Identity Theft Passport from the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office. This card looks like a driver’s license and is designed to help you, as a victim of ID theft, re-establish your good name. It also can help prevent you from being arrested for criminal offenses committed by an ID thief.
| Effective Jan. 1, 2008, Arkansans can place a “security freeze” on their credit reports, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in their credit reports without express authorization. This protective shield is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, a security freeze should not be taken lightly as it can affect your ability to make purchases and other financial transactions. |