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Identity theft is a serious crime that occurs when someone uses another person’s personal identifiable information (name, SSN, driver’s license, credit card, etc.) to commit fraud or other crimes. This could include fraudulently opening new lines of credit and even committing crimes in another person’s name. Learn more about identity theft. 

Because your identity is the key to so many crucial activities, time is of the essence in responding to and limiting the impact of identity theft. If you believe somebody is making fraudulent transactions in your name, take the following steps. 

 

These are critical, must-do steps that should be done in the following order:

  1. Contact all affected companies, credit lenders, and bank accounts to:
    • Notify them of the identity theft
    • Dispute any fraudulent charges 
    • Cancel all affected cards
    • Close any new accounts that were opened in your name
      • Be sure to use the contact information listed on the company’s official website, billing statement, or back of the card.
      • The information you provide is crucial. Here are some samples of letters you can use when notifying these companies in writing.
  2. Consider putting a lock or freeze on your credit.
  3. Save any documents, screenshots, or emails as proof of any fraudulent activity that has taken place. Consider starting an identity theft file.
  4. Consider filing a police report.
  5. Beware of scammers offering credit repair services, which are bogus, expensive promises to allegedly improve your credit. Learn more about these scams.
  6. Report any identity theft incident you have encountered to IdentityTheft.gov or the Identity Theft Resource Center. These organizations can connect you to extra resources and help you create a recovery plan. 
  7. If you are 60 years or older, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 or 833–372–8311 
  8. Are you a victim of Medicare fraud? If so, report the incident to the Senior Medical Patrol organization, which aids in stopping Medicare errors, fraud, and theft. Report at smpresource.org.
  9. Report the incident to the organization where the false identity is being used.
    This could include the Social Security Administration, a social media company, your financial institution, et cetera.

Now that you’ve taken the first critical steps to protect yourself, it’s time to investigate and learn the extent of any damage you and others may have suffered from your account being compromised. Once you know more, you can respond more thoroughly. 

We’ve outlined some next steps for you to consider. If you put several of these into practice, you’ll be safer day-to-day. Each situation can be different at this stage; the following steps are not exhaustive or in any order:

  • Check your personal contact information on important accounts to ensure that it has not been changed/modified.
  • Consider notifying the people in your life to ensure they are aware and can offer support:
  • Was your medical information compromised?
    • If so, contact your health provider and insurance company and inform them about the incident.
  • Use a password manager to reset and store unique passwords for each individual online account. Repeat passwords are among the biggest vulnerabilities in all types of online crime, including identity theft.
  • Consider using an identity theft protection service which, for a price, can monitor your credit and financial accounts, notify you of suspicious activity, and help you recover lost funds.
  • If you want a more hands-on approach, you can request a copy of your own credit report–for free–from any of the three major credit agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) at  AnnualCreditReport.com.

If someone opened accounts in your name without your knowledge or if you gave personal information to a possible scammer:

If your personal information was included in a data breach:

  • Watch for unfamiliar mail or email that could indicate the fraudulent use of your identity.  In addition, cybercriminals may take advantage of a publicized data breach by contacting you via email, text, or other method to trick you into sharing data or clicking on malicious links.
  • Secure all of your accounts (not just those affected directly by the breach) by changing passwords and PINs. Consider using a password manager and implementing Multifactor Authentication (MFA). To learn more about MFA and how to use it, read our FAQ.
  • Initiate a free, one-year fraud alert with any one of the three national credit bureaus (it will automatically be added to your credit report at the other two bureaus).
  • Monitor your accounts by setting up alerts to notify you of activity and check your credit reports from all three credit bureaus for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
    • If the breach involves critical financial or Social Security information, you may want to consider paying for a credit monitoring service or signing up if free monitoring is offered by the breached organization.
    • Visit haveibeenpwnd.com to see if your data is part of additional breaches, you may not be aware of.

The following resources can help guide you in scam education, response, and reporting:

Identity theft resources

 

Setting up multi-factor authentication

 

Check your email for potential breaches

 

Recognizing and preventing future incidents

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Warn others (report a scam)

Good job taking control of the situation! We recommend taking a few moments to report the scam to the BBB, which can help us fight fraud. If you haven’t already, please consider reporting the incident you encountered to BBB Scam TrackerSM, our prevention and reporting platform.

 

Reporting the scam to the proper channels can help law enforcement shut down scam operations that prey on others; BBB shares its data with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Scam submissions are published on BBB Scam TrackerSM, which enables the public to search the reports and determine whether they are being targeted. BBB Scam TrackerSM reports are also used to publish timely research and consumer education resources. Report your scam incident to BBB Scam TrackerSM. 

Avoid future scams (learn how)

Research indicates that possessing knowledge about scams and scam tactics can help people spot and avoid scams that will inevitably target them. The unfortunate truth is that scammers will always try to steal data, money, and important information from people.

 

Even when scammers are caught, others will replace them. The best defense, then, is to understand what a scam looks like and how to respond. Protect yourself and your loved ones by learning more about scam types and tactics by visiting BBB’s Scam Prevention Guide.