IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION TIPS

 1) File a Police Report

As the victim, you are required to file a police report in order to dispute fraudulent transactions, correct compromised accounts, place fraud alerts with the credit bureaus and to obtain free copies of your credit reports to review. As the victim, you should obtain and retain a copy, receipt, or summary of the initial police report. The Laureldale Police Department will provide you with a report summary. You should be sure to maintain the original report summary provided to you by the Laureldale Police Department, but may make as many copies of it as needed. The report summary should be attached to each affidavit (described below). As the victim, you will need to send a copy of the police report summary to each involved bank, creditor, other business, credit bureau, and debt collector in order to dispute fraudulent accounts or transactions. As the victim, you should keep a detailed journal to record every corrective action, all names of companies or representatives to whom you speak or write to. An example of a journal can be found at http://www.identitytheftactionplan.com/

This sight also contains other pertinent information.

As the victim you are required to prepare an affidavit stating you did not commit the fraud. A copy of an Identity Theft Affidavit that is accepted by most businesses, Creditors, and debt collectors, can be obtained at the Federal Trade Commission Website: www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ is provided in appendix C.  An example of this affidavit is attached to this package. As the victim, in order to dispute a fraudulent account or transaction, a copy of this affidavit must be coupled with a copy of the police report summary, and sent to every creditor, business, and debt collector through which a fraudulent account or transaction has occurred.

3)  Close all accounts believed to have been compromised or opened fraudulently.

As the victim you should immediately contact the credit card companies, banking and other financial institutions, and close all accounts that have been compromised. You as the victim can work with your financial institutions to re-establish an alternate account to prevent further fraud.