What do I do if I think someone has stolen my identity?
Who do I call to stop credit card fraud?
If you think your identity may have been stolen, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises that you take the following four steps immediately:
(1) Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and track your credit reports for any sudden changes.
(2) Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened without your permission.
(3) File a report with the police in your community or where the identity theft took place.
(4) File a complaint with the FTC, and keep records of your conversations and copies of all correspondence with creditors, banks, and credit rating agencies.
The FTC website has specific details about all of these steps and you can recover from identity theft, including theft or fraudulent use of your Social Security number. Here is the contact information for the three major credit rating agencies: