Here are eight important actions you can take if you ever become the victim of identity theft.
- Lock the compromised account.
- Dispute any fraudulent charges on your compromised accounts and ask to have them locked, or even shut down.
Place a fraud alert on your credit reports.
- This helps alert creditors that someone may be trying to open accounts in your name.
- Consider a credit freeze.
- This will make it impossible for the scammer to open a credit line or loan in your name.
- Alert the FTC.
- Visit identitytheft.gov and follow the site’s instructions.
- Strengthen your passwords.
- In addition to changing them, use strong and different passwords for all your online accounts.
- Check your account statements.
- It’s best to do so frequently to look for suspicious activity.
- Open new credit cards and accounts.
- Replace compromised accounts that you’ve shut down so you can be inconvenienced as little as possible.
- Repair your credit.
- Be extra careful about paying your bills on time and keeping your credit utilization low.
Your Turn:
Have you ever been the victim of credit card fraud? Share your story with us in the comments.