i-fraud, If You are a Victim

If You are a Victim, the FTC says do these three things immediately:

Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus and report that your identity has been stolen. Ask the "fraud alert" be placed on your file and that no new credit be granted without your approval.

For any accounts that have been fraudulently accessed or opened, contact the security departments of the appropriate creditors or financial institutions. Close these accounts. Put passwords (not your mother's maiden name) on any new accounts you open.

File a report with your local police or the police where the identity theft took place. Get a copy of the report in case the bank, credit card Company, or others need proof of the crime later on.

The Federal Trade Commission has established a toll-free hotline (1-877-ID-THEFT) to provide real-time consumer counseling for victims. As of July 2000, the agency was receiving between 800 and 850 calls a week.

The Federal Identity Theft Act In October 1998, Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 to address the problem of identity theft. Specifically, the Act made it a federal crime when anyone: knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law.

Violations of the act are investigated by federal investigative agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

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