If you become a victim

• Report all lost or stolen credit cards to your local police.
• If the crime involved the U.S. Mail, contact your nearest U.S. Postal Inspection Service office and report it.
• Call the fraud units of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and request a "fraud alert" be placed on your credit file.

Equifax: (800) 525-6285 or www.equifax.com
Experian: (888) 397-3742 or www.experian.com
TransUnion: (800) 680-7289 or www.transunion.com

• Contact your banks and creditors, by phone and in writing, and report the crime. You may need to close some or all of your accounts. At the least, change your PIN and passwords immediately.
• Record the names and phone numbers of all of the people with whom you discuss your case.
• Retain all original reports and supporting documents. Keeping accurate and complete records are a big step toward helping you resolve your problem.
• Contact your financial institutions and request they flag your accounts. Instruct them to contact you immediately if there is unusual activity on your accounts.
• File your complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission  or call their Identity Theft Hotline at 1 (877) ID-THEFT. The FTC has counselors to assist identity theft victims with resolving financial and other problems that can result from this crime.

Identity Theft Protection Reviews

Identify Theft Protection Reviews is a free resource designed to both educate readers about identity theft protection and to help them make informed decisions should they elect to enroll in one of the top-10 services they review.