- Identity Theft Home > How to Catch Identity Thieves
How to Catch Identity Thieves
Check Your Bank Accounts
If someone is illegally using your bank account, close the account right away and ask your bank to notify its check verification service. The service will notify retailers not to honor checks written on this account. In most cases, the bank is responsible for any losses. To find out whether someone is passing bad checks in your name, call the Shared Check Authorization Network at 800- 262-7771.
If you think someone has opened a new checking account in your name, you can ask for a free copy of your consumer report from Chex Systems (800-428-9623, www.chexhelp.com), the consumer reporting service used by many banks. If your bank doesn’t use Chex Systems, ask for the name and number of the consumer reporting service it uses.
Call the Police
As soon as you can, contact your local police or
sheriff’s department. The police should take your
report and give you a copy, or at least the number
of the report. You should also consider
reporting the crime to your state law enforcement,
since many states have recently toughened
their laws against identity theft. You will
need a police report to pursue your case with
creditors who have been victimized in your
name. You may also want to contact the office
of your state attorney general for consumer
fraud information. For a list of state attorneys
general, go to www.naag.org.
Be sure to give the police copies of all the documents
that support your claim. You may want to
provide them with a notarized copy of the
Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Affidavit,
available from www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
Because an identity is frequently stolen in one
place and used in another, you may also have to
contact the police in the place where the crime
took place. Your local law enforcement or the
creditors affected can tell you if this is the case.
What’s the Law?
The federal Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 (18 U.S.C. Section 1028) makes 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.”
Other Numbers To Call
- Call the Social Security Administration’s Fraud Hotline at 800-269-0271 if your Social Security number has been stolen.
- Call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that a thief has used your mailing address to commit a crime. Call 888-877-7644 for the number of your local office.
- Call the Internal Revenue Service at 800- 829-0433 if you believe your identification has been used in violation of tax laws.
- The Secret Service is responsible for investigating financial fraud, but it doesn’t investigate individual crimes unless a large amount of money is involved or a ring of thieves is operating. For more information, go to www.treas.gov/usss.
- Report your case to the Federal Trade
Commission, which maintains a database
that law enforcement agencies use to hunt
down identity thieves. To report your theft
or to get more information on what to do,
call the FTC’s toll-free hotline at 877-
IDTHEFT.
Tips for Reporting Identity Theft
- Act as soon as you discover the theft. Time is of the essence to prevent further fraud or damage to your credit, and acting quickly may be necessary to protect your rights.
- Keep a record of all conversations with name, agency, phone number, date, and time.
- Keep copies of all emails.
- Never mail originals. Always send out copies, notarized if necessary.
- Use the Federal Trade Commission’s ID Theft Affidavit (see page 11) and get it notarized.
- Always use certified mail, return receipt requested, so that you have a record of who received your mail and when.
- Above all, be persistent. It can take time and effort to clean up the mess left behind by the criminal who stole your identity, but only you can do the job.
