This is the second of 3 posts around identity theft and identity fraud. The first post was all about prevention while the next will be about handling being a victim of identity theft.
This post is the middle ground, what to do if you think you’re a victim of identity theft.
Identity theft is where someone uses your identity information without your consent. Identity fraud is where someone obtains goods, money, credit or services by deception.
It’s a narrow difference but an important one.
We’re talking about identity theft here and what to do if you think your identity has been stolen.
Detecting identity theft
Despite being common, identity theft is hard to detect and there aren’t any reliable numbers to tell us just how prevalent it is.
However, we know it’s out there so it’s up to us to prevent and report it if it happens to us.
So how can you detect identity theft?
It’s usually when you see something on a bank or credit card statement you don’t recognise.
You could also receive order confirmations, strange emails from lenders or online stores.
Worst case, it’s when a letter arrives from a debt collector telling you payments are overdue for a loan or credit card you didn’t even know you had.
A couple of those tips I shared in ‘How to prevent identity theft and keep yourself safe’ can help you spot identity theft.
Managing identity theft
Say you spot a strange charge on your bank account or are contacted about a loan or credit card you didn’t apply for.
What happens next?
I recommend taking all the following actions as quickly as you can.
Talk to the organisation that made the charge or your bank whose statement you’re reading.
They can often tell you exactly who made the charge and from where. It may be innocent and something you just forgot.
It may not.
If it isn’t a charge you made, you have some more actions to take:
Talk to the lender or organisation involved
If someone wrote to you or you see a credit application or other note on your credit report, contact that organisation to discuss the situation.
Most companies have fraud departments and will be set up to assist. Ask that they block the service or product to prevent further activity and begin the fraud process.
It’s long and requires lots of paperwork but it should end up with you not owing any money you didn’t apply for. Checks are rigorous, just to make sure you’re really a victim of fraud, but everything should be fair.
Talk to your bank and credit card company
Even if the theft is nothing to do with your bank or credit card company, you should notify them right away.
They can put a block or alert on your accounts and prevent any unauthorised charges being made or extra cards being applied for.
It’s a preventative measure that helps prevent things getting even more messy.
If it’s a charge on your bank or credit card statement that alerted you, discuss it with them and see what extra information they can provide about the transaction.
They may be able to shed light on it and identify it as something you did but completely forgot.
I have done that and it’s a huge relief!
Change all your online passwords
If the charge is a result of identity theft, you need to change all your online passwords. We don’t yet know how your identity was stolen but online accounts are usually a fair bet.
Use a password manager and change all your online passwords for every account to something truly random. The manager installs into your web browser and will automatically generate and store random passwords.
Notify the credit bureaus
If your discussion with your bank, credit card company or whoever does indicate you’re a victim of identity theft, contact Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Ask them to put a block or note on your credit report to prevent any further credit being applied for in your name.
Once you notify the credit bureaus, if further credit is taken out in your name, it’s not your responsibility to sort it out. That’s between the bureaus and the lender in question.
Notify CIFAS
CIFAS is the UK fraud prevention service. They won’t be able to do much to solve the crime but they can help assess the damage and provide information and assistance for sorting everything out.
The process will be long and involve lots of phone calls and paperwork but it should be fair.
As long as you can prove you didn’t apply for any of the products and take reasonable care over your personal identity, you should end up not owing anything that was accessed fraudulently.
It’s a rubbish situation to find yourself in but it’s not insurmountable. Lenders know there is fraud out there and will help you figure out what happened and how.
