5/26/16 By Jeanne Skowronski, an editor and reporter at Credit.com Maybe it’s a sudden influx of subprime credit
card offers in your mailbox. Or a bill
from an issuer you don’t recognize. Or, even, a debt collection notice
regarding a charged-off account you never opened. Whatever telltale sign emerges, you now
have reason to believe a credit card has been taken out in your name. While it
can be hard to quell your panic, there are some steps you can take to
remedy the situation and prevent further identity theft from taking place. Here’s how to address a fraudulent
credit card account. 1. Pull Your Credit
Reports Checking your credit reports is one of
the quickest ways to confirm that fraud has taken place, as any fraudulent
accounts that were opened in your name will ultimately appear as a line
item. If you have reason to believe you’ve fallen victim, request copies from
all three major credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
(Creditors don’t always report to all of them.) You can do so by pulling your credit reports for free each year
at AnnualCreditReport.com. 2. File a Police
Report If new accounts are on your credit
report, you’ll want to notify the proper authorities of the crime. File a
police report at your local station. You can also file a complaint with the
Federal Trade Commission and the FBI. 3. Call the Creditor Call the bank, lender, card company,
utility or merchant listed on your credit report(s) where you see the error.
Fast action can help stop thieves from racking up more charges in your
name. 4. Consider a Credit
Freeze New account fraud strongly suggests
someone’s gotten a hold of your Social Security number — and if they’ve used it
once successfully, there’s a good chance they’ll try again. But you can block
future attempts by placing a credit freeze on your credit reports. This
action denies potential creditors access to your credit reports — which,
in turn, will cause them to deny an application for a new account. Keep in mind, freezing your credit will
it make it more difficult for you to secure new financing. You’d need to “thaw”
your reports before applying for new credit and then “freeze” them once you’re
done. Fortunately, most states do allow victims of identity theft to do
this for free. If you do elect to skip a credit freeze, however,
you’ll at least want to place a fraud alert on each of your credit reports. 5. Dispute the Items You’ll want to formally dispute the
items with the creditor in question as well as the credit bureau(s) that are
listed the account on your credit reports. You can provide copies of your
police report and FBI or FTC complaints as supporting evidence. You can learn more about disputing items on your credit report here.
If your dispute fails or you have multiple credit report errors you want help
in getting resolved, you may also want to consider hiring a reputable credit
repair company (here’s how to find a good one). 6. Monitor,
Monitor, Monitor Once you’ve disputed the fraudulent items on your credit report, you’ll want to be sure they are actually removed. You’ll also want to keep a close eye on your credit to be sure no new accounts appear. |