Responding to Identify Theft

If you have been the victim of identity theft, regardless of whether or not it had to do with the use of your computer, there are several agencies and organizations that are ready to assist you.

Obviously your first contact with be with the banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions with which you usually do business, as well as local police.

See the links in the upper right for access to additional information.

One approach to protecting yourself against identity theft is to check your credit reports and see if there is any unusual activity or items which you know you weren't involved with.

Many of the sites listed above recommend getting your credit report once a year to check it. Some recommend rotating among the three major credit bureaus since the reports will vary somewhat.

The credit bureaus also may need to be contacted if you are the victim of identity theft as charges and other activities by the person who stole the identity may affect your credit rating. The web sites also contain information about preventing and dealing with identity theft.

Due to new federal legislation, the credit bureaus are required to make available to consumers a free copy of their credit report on an annual basis. This gives an opportunity to examine your credit report for signs that someone may be trying to assume your identity (as well as ensure that the report is accurate).

While many sites promise a "free" credit report, it's not unusual to find out that there are limitations on what is free or you are subjecting yourself to relentless sales pitches in order to get the information.

Instead of those sites, go to the site which has been set up by the three credit reporting bureaus to supply the online reports: www.annualcreditreport.com

Here's contact information for the three major bureaus: