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Security Information > If you are a Victim
If you are a Victim
If you're a victim of identity theft or account fraud, you should notify your bank(s) immediately.
It is also recommended that you immediately:
- Contact the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Identity Theft Hotline toll-free
at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) and file a complaint. The FTC puts the information into
a secure consumer fraud database and shares it with local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies. The hotline is staffed by counselors trained to help victims and
take their complaints. You may also file a complaint online at www.consumer.gov.
- Call the fraud departments of all three credit bureaus. Ask them to put a "fraud
alert" on your file. This tells creditors to call you before they open any more accounts in
your name.
- Equifax 1-800-525-6285
- Experian 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion 1-800-680-7289
- Contact your local police and ask to file a report. Even if the police can't catch
the identity thief, having a police report can help you in clearing up your credit records
later on.
- Contact any financial institution or other creditor where you have an account
that you think may be the victim of identity theft. Request that access to your account be
restricted, change your account password, or close your account if there is evidence your
account has been the target of criminal activity.
- Submit a written request for a free copy of your credit report. Credit bureaus
must provide a free copy of your report if you have reason to believe the report is
inaccurate because of fraud.
- Review your report to make sure no additional fraudulent accounts have been
opened in your name, or unauthorized changes made to your existing accounts. Also,
check the section of your report that lists "inquiries" and request that any inquiries from
companies that opened the fraudulent accounts be removed.
If you prefer not to receive pre-approved offers of credit, call: 1-888-5-OPT OUT.
To remove your name from many national direct mail lists, send your name, address,
and your request to "opt out" to: DMA Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008,
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.
And to reduce the number of telephone solicitations from many national marketers, send
your name, address, telephone number and your request to "opt out" to: DMA Telephone
Preference Service, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY, 11735-9014.
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