- 1). Call Experian, Equifax or Transunion, report that you are an identity theft victim and put a fraud alert on your credit report. The alert notifies companies that they need to verify applications in your name before granting any credit. You only need to call one of the three credit bureaus, as that bureau automatically places alerts for you with the others, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Your fraud alerts run for 90 days.
- 2). Review the credit report copies sent to you by the credit bureaus in response to your fraud alerts. Federal law entitles identity theft victims to no-cost credit reports so you can find and challenge fraudulent accounts. Call the companies that issued any unrecognized credit cards or loans and ask for removal from your credit bureau records. Dispute those entries directly with the credit bureaus, too, on the grounds that they are not your accounts. This removes their effect on your credit score.
- 3). Call your local police department and make a police report on the identity theft, then use it to extend your fraud alerts for seven years. The credit bureaus will not grant extensions unless you have documentation from law enforcement officials. Otherwise you lose your protection in 90 days, and your cleaned-up credit reports will be damaged if the thief manages to open more accounts.
- 4). Monitor your credit reports every four months to ensure no negative fraud-related items show up again once you get them removed. Each credit bureau must give you a free report once per year through AnnualCreditReport.com, the Federal Trade Commission explains. Spread your orders out rather than getting all three reports at once for more efficient fraud detection.
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