How to Repair Credit After Identity Theft
Identity theft is among the fastest growing crimes on record, and everyone needs to be aware that it could happen to them. No one is immune. Although it would be a traumatic experience to have your identity stolen and your credit score destroyed, it doesn't mean the negative effects would have to last forever. Your finances and credit rating can be restored. Following are a few tips on how to repair credit after identity theft.
Protect Your Identity
The old adage ‘the best defense is a good offense' could apply to protecting your identity. Taking pains to prevent identity theft is the best way to deter criminals. Unfortunately, no matter how careful you are, it is possible to have your personal information compromised. If that happens you could suffer tremendous financial upheaval. The good credit rating you worked so hard to establish could be adversely affected for months, if not years. As part of your plan to protect your identity you should know what steps to take if you ever become a victim of identity theft.
Contact the Authorities
The first thing you should do when you realize your identity has been compromised is to contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies–Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion–and have a fraud alert placed on your account. If someone attempts to use your credit card or establish credit using your identity, the lender will be alerted and can take appropriate action. A fraud alert will not reimburse you for any damage that has already been done, but it will help keep the situation from becoming worse. You should also file a report with the police or sheriff's office, notifying them that a crime has been committed, because identity theft is definitely a crime. Make sure you get a copy of the police report, and you should also get a copy of your credit report.
Study Your Credit Report
Take the time to go through every aspect of your credit report, and make a note of anything that appears to be out of the ordinary. You may have to dispute any entries that you believe to be the result of identity theft. Having a police report on hand could help in the disputation process, because it will lend an air of authority suggesting you should be taken seriously. For each case of fraud that has been perpetrated you will need to do two things–the first thing is to contact the fraud department of the lender who permitted the fraudulent transactions and have them put a stop on the account. They will undoubtedly require some form of proof of your accusation. The police report will help supply that proof, as will any other documentation you can offer. After you've contacted the lender you should also write a letter to the credit reporting bureau disputing the matters you consider to be identity theft related.
Open New Accounts
After the reporting process is underway you can begin trying to repair your credit rating. The old accounts, including credit cards, will have been closed, so you will have to open new accounts. Depending on the extent of damage the identity thieves have caused you may even have to get a new Social Security number. Some cases of identity theft have left the victims with the prospect of developing an entirely new credit rating because theirs was completed destroyed. Recovering from identity theft can literally take years. You will need to have multiple copies of each of the documents related to the fraudulent transactions pulled off by the identity thieves in order to present them to each lender who has been affected by the crime. You will also need a copy of the police report for each incident.
Legal Help
It would be a good idea to hire an attorney as soon as you suspect your identity has been compromised. Their legal counsel could prove invaluable as you deal with repairing the damage that was done. Having a lawyer on retainer will undoubtedly save you a lot of hassle down the road, because recovering from identity theft could take years.
Maintain Good Credit
During the process of repairing your credit rating you will need to be extremely careful to maintain a good credit rating. That means you will have to be absolutely sure you pay all of your bills on time. It may take years to reestablish your good name, but if you persevere it is possible to repair the damage done to your credit by identity thieves.
About the author
Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about identity theft protection for IdentityTheft.net.
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