Identity Theft

[DaDancingPsych]

I have a friend who just came to me telling me that he's had two incidents of identity theft this week.

 

1. A credit card company (not his) sent him paperwork to update the information on one of his cards... a card that he never applied for, nor uses. Obviously someone does, though.

 

2. A local pet store phoned him, because a check he "wrote" was deemed fraudulent.

 

Anyone else dealt with this? Have any advice on how to get one's affairs back in order? Thanks!

[Satsuma]

Hmm well if someone is actually doing this then it is maybe best to tell the police because he soon might get done for something serious.

[rose2summer]

This article describes the steps needed to deal with this:

 

www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

 

Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before open any new accounts...

 

Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit (PDF, 56KB) when disputing new unauthorized accounts...

 

File your complaint with the FTC. You may print a copy of your complaint to provide important standardized information for your police report...

 

File a report with your local police or police in the community where the identity theft took place. Give the police a copy of your FTC ID Theft complaint form. Get a copy of the police report (or, at least, the police report number)…

[DaDancingPsych]

Thank you! I will share this with him. I feel like a better friend now that I have some information to share. I truly appreciate your help!