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Other Consumer Issues:

D. If you are a victim

If you become aware that you are or may be a victim, act immediately; it is impossible to overemphasize the importance of prompt action. An excellent resource is the Federal Trade Commission web site (www.ftc.gov) which includes a “Chart Your Course of Action Form” for victims of ID theft, and a comprehensive, clear, three-page article called Identity Crisis: What to Do If Your Identity Is Stolen. According to the FTC here are the first steps a victim should take:

1. Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus. Tell them to flag your file with a fraud alert stating that creditors should get your permission before opening any new accounts in your name. Ask for copies of your credit reports. The bureaus must give you free copies if they are inaccurate because of fraud. After a few months ask for new reports to verify corrections and changes and review for new fraudulent activity. Call any one of the three major reporting bureaus, and follow up with a letter.
   
   The numbers for reporting fraud to Equifax and Trans Union are different from those for requesting credit reports:
   -Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; email: www.equifax.com
   P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
   -Experian: 1-888-397-3742 (1-888-EXPERIAN); email: www.experian.com
   -Trans Union: 10800-680-7289; email: www.tuc.com
   Fraud Assistance Division
   P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834
2. Contact all creditors with fraudulent accounts or charges in your name. Ask for someone in the security or fraud division and report what you know. Follow up with a letter; list all charges that you did not make.
3. File a report with the police or sheriff’s department in your community or in the community where the identity theft occurred (or both). Keep a copy. This is proof for the creditor that you are doing what you can to apprehend the thief.

Sometimes older persons hesitate to take this vital step because they fear the thief is a child, grandchild or other relative. That is understandable but foolish. Failure to file a complaint does nothing to build the character of the thief, may encourage him or her to prey on others, and generally can only make a sad situation worse.

Additional Steps:

Contact the office of the Attorney General or Consumer Affairs Advocate in your state. In Alabama, contact the office of the Alabama Attorney General.

The AG's office has a very good check list for victims. Go to www.ago.state.al.us, click on Consumer Affairs, select topic ID Theft.

To request a form for filing a complaint :

Call 1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7334

Write: Consumer Affairs Section
Office of the Attorney General
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130-0152 or
Contact the AG's office online: www.ago.state.al.us/consumer/howtofile/cfm

Other suggestions from the FTC are preventive as well as corrective; they are intended to return control over your financial affairs to you. Depending on how you know or suspect a thief has obtained information, you may want to

• close accounts
• get a post office box
• take Mail to a collection box rather than leaving it out when you are not home
• establish new PIN numbers on your accounts.

Do not use any part of your social security number, your birthday or any series of consecutive numbers for PINs. If someone has changed an address on any account, close it, set up a new one and use a new PIN. If you have lost your ATM card cancel it. If unauthorized calls are being made on your cell phone, contact the service provider to cancel the account and card and get new accounts. In short, try to cut off every conceivable route the thief may have for reaching your assets.

Contact the FTC. File a complaint any of three ways:
Call the Identity Theft Hotline, 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338)
Write Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C. 20580
Contact FTC online: www.consumer.gov.idtheft

The FTC also has excellent materials on prevention, steps for victims to take, and general information on this and other topics.

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