Beckley Police Department
To Serve and Protect
Identity Theft Fact Sheet
Credit Reporting Bureaus:
Agency Phone Website
Equifax (888) 766-0008 www.equifax.com
Experian (888) 397-3742 www.experian.com
TransUnion (800) 680-7289 www.transunion.com
Credit Report. Request a free copy of your credit report at
www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228 or by writing P.O
Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 make sure all activity listed belongs to you.
What to do if you are a victim of identity theft:
1. Reporting. Immediately call the fraud units of the three credit
reporting companies—Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Report the
theft of your credit cards or number. Ask that your account be flagged.
Also, add a victim’s statement to your report. (My ID has been used
fraudulently to apply for credit cards. Contact me at “your number” to
verify all applications.) Ask how long the fraud alert is posted on your
account, and how you can extend it if necessary.
2. Identity Theft. Contact all creditors immediately with whom your
name has been used fraudulently—by phone and in writing. Get
replacement cards with new account numbers for your own accounts
that have been used fraudulently. Ask that old accounts be processed
as “account closed at consumer’s request.” (This is better than “card
lost or stolen,” because when this statement is reported to credit
bureaus, it can be interpreted as blaming you for the loss.) Carefully
monitor your mail and credit card bills for evidence of new fraudulent
activity. Report it immediately to credit grantors.
3. Stolen checks. If you have had checks stolen or bank accounts set up
fraudulently, report it to the check verification companies. Put stop
payments on any outstanding checks that you are unsure of. Cancel
your checking and savings accounts and obtain new account numbers.
Give the bank a secret password for your account.
4. ATM Cards. If you’re ATM or debit card has been stolen or
compromised, report it immediately. Get a new card, account number
and password. Do not use your old password. When creating a
password, don’t use common numbers like the last four digits of your
social security number or your birth date.
5. Fraudulent Change of Address. Notify the local postal inspector if
you suspect an identity thief has filed a change of your address with
the post office or has used the mail to commit credit or bank fraud.
Find out where the fraudulent credit cards were sent. Notify the local
postmaster for that address to forward all mail in your name to your
own address. You may also need to talk with the mail carrier.
6. Secret Service jurisdiction. The secret service has jurisdiction over
financial fraud, but it usually does not investigate individual cases
unless the dollar amount is high or you are one of the many victims in
a fraud ring. To interest the secret service in your case, you may want
to ask the fraud department of the credit card companies and/or banks,
as well as the police investigator, to notify the particular secret service
agent they work with.
7. Social Security Number Misuse. Call the social security administration to report fraudulent use of your social security number.As a last resort, you might want to try and change your number; the SSA will only change it, however, if you fit their fraud victim criteria. Also order a copy of your earnings and benefits statement and check it for accuracy.