If you become a victim of online privacy theft, it means that some criminal has stolen your credit card details and has used them to run up debts in your name. Not only will you be hounded for payment, but also your credit score will be lowered dramatically and you’ll find it hard to get credit in the future.
When your bag is snatched and you know you’ve lost your credit cards, you can immediately go to the bank and cancel them so no debt is run up in your name. With online theft it is not usually apparent for several days or weeks and the damage has been done before you can act. But it is vital to act as soon as you suspect something is amiss.
What you must do is establish fraud alerts by calling the fraud department of one of the three credit reporting companies; Esperian, TransUnion or Equifax. Out of the three, the latter two are the best to report to. Esperian will subject you to a marketing pitch for so-called free credit management tools and then you’ll be charged for the service 30 days later, unless you call them again to cancel.
Once you report the matter to one of them, they will send the alert on to the other two. Your first fraud alert can only last for 90 days. Once you hear back from the credit bureaus, you must contact them all to request both a fraud extension for seven years and a free credit report copy.
To be granted the seven-year fraud alert, you need to have proof that fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name, and a police report of identity theft. This 7-year alert can be cancelled at any time during the seven years. You will have a special number assigned to your credit reports. Always use them in all communication with the credit bureaus, and keep records and documentation of all phone calls and letters, including dates and times. When writing, use certified mail.
Once you receive your credit reports, you’ll be able to tell what accounts have been opened in your name. List them all and notify both the issuer of the account and the credit bureaus. There will be instructions provided with your credit reports to help you do this. Follow them exactly. Once you’ve notified the credit bureaus, they are legally obliged to take that information off of your credit reports.
Don’t rest there, but check your credit reports again a few months later. You are able to get one free credit report per year from each bureau as well as the free ones you can get due to an identity theft, so use this, because often more accounts will be opened in your name after the first hue and cry dies down.
In some states you can get one free report per month for the first 12 months after a fraud alert. Take advantage of this to check your credit score and don’t rest until you can see that it has been restored to squeaky clean.
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