It’s a horrible feeling. When you realize that you are a victim of identity theft, your whole world turns upside down. It is as though someone has invaded your privacy - which is in fact what they have done.You are shocked. then the shock transforms itself into rage. How dare they! This is my money and I worked hard for it! The problem is that it is not that easy to get back at the thief. At best you can make the effort to fix up the disaster and put systems in place to prevent it happening again. The reality of life after identity theft.

You may not even notice the first indicators of identity theft - credit card charges that you did not make appearing on your statement, being denied credit when you don’t understand why or perhaps your regular bills fail to arrive. The safest thing you can do in this case is, as soon as you recognize a problem, act to prevent the thief from getting any further.

Request that a “fraud alert” is put on your credit reports to indicate to your creditors that there is a problem. They should then act in turn by following certain procedures if there is an application for a new account or card in your name. Be sure also to obtain (free) copies of your credit reports so you can keep track and check for indicators that your account is being accessed illegally.

Accounts that have been illegally accessed or established should be immediately closed and then you should inform the department responsible for account security or fraud, in writing, of the violation and submit any evidence that you have regarding the theft.

Inform the police and file a report with them - some creditors want proof of the crime and this is helpful. Let the Federal Trade Commission know as well - whilst it may not be of assistance to you directly, it does assist them in tracking down patterns of ID theft throughout the country.

You should begin placing safeguards around all details of your finances as soon as possible to prevent a repeat of the theft. Don’t throw out documents that include your personal details without first shredding them and NEVER offer your personal information over the phone or the internet except in the case where you are sure with whom you are dealing.

Online passwords and PINs should have watertight security - avoid the obvious passwords such as your date of birth or your social security number.

Keep all of your personal documentation in a safe place, preferably locked. Your passport and other documentation that is not often used should definitely be locked away. This level of security is even more critical if you share a house, employ home help or have tradespeople working in your home.

The last point is that you should continue to keep a watchful eye on your credit report so that you can detect any illegal activity early. Spacing out the requests for reports from the three major bureaus (1 every 4 months) allows you to be more thorough and can have a positive security effect on your credit score rating.

Will you recover from identity theft? Of course, but it won’t be the same any more. One of the major effects of identity theft is ruining of one’s trust in people. As a result you will be more cautious when dealing with people and more thorough checking your accounts. But perhaps that can be seen as a positive.

Tags: Identity Theft