April 12, 2013
What should you do if you believe you have been a victim of identity theft?
Often times, you may not even know how your numbers were stolen, and, you may not know a crime has been committed for months. But when you do know or suspect that you’ve been a victim, immediately:
♦ Close all accounts—and indicate why.
♦ Report the crime to law enforcement, and to the Federal Trade Commission.
♦ Place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Call the toll free number of any one of the three credit bureaus: Equifax (800-255-6285), Experian (888-397-3742) or TransUnion (800-680-7289).
♦ Contact your bank—ask that new passwords be assigned to your accounts.
♦ Avoid using common numbers for your passwords—the last four digits of your SSN, or series of consecutive numbers.
♦ To replace a SSN call: SS Administration Office.
♦ Contact the Post Office if you suspect that an identity thief submitted a change of address form with the Post Office in order to mail.
Michael Cripps,
President and CEO
