Believe it or not there are multiple ways in which your identity can be stolen. It happens to Americans every day. There are two things that you can do to protect yourself. Having your identity stolen can be very stressful, costly, and harmful to your credit score ratings. First, you should know the ways to protect you from this even happening to you. Second, if identity theft does occur, have a concrete game plan in place. Here are a few steps to help you in case your identity ever gets stolen.
1. If your cards have been stolen, immediately cancel them. Make sure that any corresponding accounts that are linked to them are also shut down. If you cannot remember the exact point that your items might have gotten stolen, go over the recent charges with the agent that you are working with. They should be able to reverse any charges that were not made by you.
2. Contact one of the three credit score companies. You might want to contact all three for safe measure however, they should share the information with each other without you having to call. They will be able to put a fraud alert on your account. This will make the process of applying for lines of credit or opening accounts in your name impossible. It will require more identification from you in the event that you are ready to apply for new things. Be patient and remember that the alert is there to protect you, not to be annoying.
3. Watch for any new accounts being opened in your name. If one happens to get opened call the company and let them know that it is a fraudulent account. By signing up to receive a free credit score or a ratings report they might also offer you monitoring. This is very safe for you to do. In the event that you may not know your identity has been stolen, it will alert you of any changes made to your credit score rating.
4. Change any and all passwords that you may use online. This is extremely important if you didn't know that your identity was stolen. They were able to hack into your account before so change everything and try to mix up the passwords.
These are just a few of the things that you can do as a consumer to protect yourself. While identity theft can be scary, if you have a plan in place you will be better prepared.
The Urgency of ID Theft Prevention
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