What if I am a victim of Identity Theft?
Notify the credit bureau
- Contact one of the three credit bureaus. The one you contact will notify the other two and fraud alerts will be placed on your files.
Notify financial institutions
- Call the financial institution where the fraud occurred.
- Open new accounts and have affected accounts closed.
- Have new PINs and passwords issued.
- Consider contacting other financial institutions where you have accounts.
- Contact Commerce Bank to report identity theft at 1-800-453-2265.
Notify the FTC
Report identity theft by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
Visit the FTC website at: www.consumer.gov/idtheft
There you can find an Identity Theft affidavit, which will aid in recovering losses due to identity theft and assist in the investigation.
Keep a record of events
Write down everyone you contacted. Record the name, title, and phone number of each person you spoke to. Also note the substance of what was discussed and any report, case, or reference numbers. Keep copies of any reports or affidavits you send and any letters or information you receive.
File a police report with the local police department
Ask for a copy of the report, or at the very least record the date, time, and number of the report, the location of the department and the name of the officer taking the report.
DID YOU KNOW?
Under the Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to:
• Ask the national credit bureaus to place an initial or extended fraud alert in your file. These alerts require that creditors contact you before opening any new accounts or changing existing accounts.
- An initial alert stays on your file for at least 90 days and entitles you to a free copy of your credit report on file at each of the three credit bureaus.
- An extended alert stays in your file for seven years and entitles you to two free credit reports in a 12-month period from the time the alert was placed.
• Obtain documents relating to any fraudulent transactions made or accounts opened using your personal information. A creditor or other business must give you copies of applications and other business records relating to transactions and accounts that resulted from the theft of your identity, but you must ask for them in writing.
