Other Essential Steps After Identity Theft
If you become a victim of identity theft, filing a report with the FTC and a law enforcement agency are the beginning steps you need to take to recover.
Knowing what to do if your identity is stolen is essential for your recovery. You can take additional steps to stop the identity thief from causing additional damage and ensure you aren’t held liable for fraudulent accounts, such as protecting your credit file and securing your bank accounts.
Review Of The Report By The Prosecutor
The written report is sent to the prosecutor, who must then decide if more investigation is necessary or if enough evidence exists to authorize prosecution based on probable cause that a crime has occurred. The evidence must also support that the person cited in the report committed the crime.
The American Bar Association notes that this should not be confused with proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a heavier burden to meet and is required for conviction at trial.
Can You File An Identity Theft Police Report Online
Depending on your local law enforcement agency, some police departments may have an online portal to file a police report. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department has an online form to file a police report. You can also report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov or by calling the 877-438-4338 hotline.
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What If I Need To Change My Report After I File It
You will have the ability to file online supplemental reports. If you have already filed a report through the online system, we strongly encourage you to continue to update and add information through this system. This decreases the risk of filing the same report twice, and also makes it easier to keep your information tied to the correct report number.
You will need either:
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Does Reporting To The Ftc Do Anything
The power of ReportFraud.ftc.gov We cant resolve your individual report, but we use reports to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices.
Do police Investigate identity theft?
There is an expectation that the police will investigate and prosecute identity thieves. However in all reality, these types of issues are rarely investigated by the police. The report is filed and documented and then no further action is taken. This most likely do to a variety of issues.
How do you check if my identity is being used?
What you can do to detect identity theft
How do you check if your name is being used?
at 1-877-IDTHEFT or go to: www.identitytheft.gov/ To order a copy of your Social Security Administration earnings and benefits statement, or to check whether someone has used your Social Security number to get a job or to avoid paying taxes, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/statement/.
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How To Protect Your Identity
If you have been a victim of identity theft, you are probably anxious to protect your identity as much as you can going forward. There are several things you can do that will help you protect your reputation and your credit.
Ask your creditors about credit locks, fraud alerts, and security freezes on your accounts. Some even offer additional monitoring of your credit which may be worth having for a while. Our experts outline all this and more in our ID theft prevention guide.
Here are more steps you can take right now to help mitigate the damage from your information leak.
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Immediate Steps To Take
- File a report with the police/sheriff in the jurisdiction in which you live and get a copy of the report for the credit reporting agencies, banks and credit card companies. You can file the report at the police station or file online.
- In Denver, you can file at www.denvergov.org/policereport.
- You can also complete the ID Theft Affidavit provided by the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov.
- Consider placing a Security Freeze or Fraud Alert on/in your credit reports. See below.
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What Can I Do If I Am A Victim Of Identity Theft
Report the identity theft to the police.
Get a copy of the police report so that you can share it with your financial institutions, credit card issuers, the credit reporting agencies, and any other companies.
Tell the financial institutions, credit card issuers, or companies that are involved.
You may need to change your account numbers, your PINs, and get new debit and credit cards.
Report the identity theft to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre .
They provide advice and assistance to victims. Call 1-888-495-8501 or visit www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
Cancel any missing or stolen identification documents.
Immediately cancel government-issued documents like your drivers licence, passport, birth certificate, or health card and get new ones as soon as possible.
Contact Service Ontario at 416-326-1234 or toll-free at 1-800-267-8097.
Contact Equifax and TransUnion.
They are the two main credit reporting agencies in Canada. Ask both agencies for a copy of your credit reports. They must send you a free copy of your report in the mail if you ask them to. Review your credit reports and let them know if you want to dispute a debt. Ask if a fraud alert should be placed in your file.
Contact Equifax at 1-800-465-7166 or www.equifax.ca. Contact TransUnion at 1-800-663-9980 or www.transunion.ca.
You may need legal help for some situations.
Call Pro Bono Ontarios help line at 1-855-255-7256.
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Use Instant Checkmates Dark Web Monitoring Service
If a criminal has stolen your identity, theres a possibility they might try and sell it on the Dark Web. For a small additional fee, you can use your Instant Checkmate membership to scan the Dark Web in search of your data. This is one of the fastest ways to see if your personal information has ended up in the wrong hands.
To see if your personal information could have been stolen, enter your name in the box below and hit SEARCH.
The Author
Ed Smith is a writer, coffee addict, and jack of all trades. Hes based in San Diego, California.
How Long Do You Have To File A Police Report
If you have been involved in circumstances that require you to file a police report, its best to do it as soon as possible. However, the actual time that is legally mandated for you to do this will depend on the crime and the state where you currently reside.
Following the Statutes of Limitations
There are all types of crimes that can be committed against you burglary, assault, rape or theft, just to name a few. Each one of these crimes has a different statute of limitations, which means that there is a maximum amount of time in which an offender can be charged for committing the crime.
The statute of limitations will typically be set at one year for offenses such as minor theft, vandalism or traffic accidents. In cases where a serious felony has been committed, there may be no statute of limitations. These would be crimes like murder, child abuse or rape where the seriousness of the crime is more severe.
Rule Of Thumb For Offenses
While different crimes have different types of statute of limitations, there is a rule of thumb that you can use to determine if you still have time to file a police report. For petty offenses, you typically have a year to file a report. Most misdemeanors will have a statute of limitations that is equal to two years. For felonies, you usually have five years.
When Does Statute Of Limitations Start?
Investigation and Preparation
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Safety Planning & Tips
Yes. The safety exit button featured on our website can quickly remove you from our website at any time and redirect you to . However, this button will not erase your history and cookies from your computer. Learn how to erase your computers history and cookies through Safety and Crime Prevention Tips.
A safety plan is a personalized, practical list of strategies that can help you reduce or eliminate dangerous situations, and inform you about the best ways to react when you are at risk.
Every situation is different. To develop a detailed personalized safety plan, please call the NYC 24-hour Hotline at 866-689-HELP to be connected with a victim advocate who can help you create one.
In addition, an NYPD crime prevention officer may be able to conduct a security survey of your home or business, as well as provide you with recommendations on improved safety options.
The Departments Safety and Crime Prevention Tips contains information on protecting your personal property, burglary prevention, credit card fraud, identity theft, and other helpful safety tips.
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S To Take If You’re A Victim Of Identity Theft
If you believe you’re a victim of identity theft, follow these steps:
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Secure Your Compromised Accounts
Make sure to secure every account the identity thief accessed. It can also be wise to secure any account that uses similar credentials.
Change your password to a new, strong password and sign up for two-factor authentication to provide an added layer of security. Accessing your account with two-step verification requires entering your password, followed by a code that is typically sent to your email or telephone number.
What Is Identity Theft
Identity theft is when someone uses your personal information â such as your name, address, banking details, social security number, credit card number, etc. â without your permission, to perform criminal or fraudulent activities.
Hackers can open accounts in your name, commit loan fraud, steal medical benefits , access your retirement accounts, and inflict severe financial damage. Identity thieves can hurt your credit score and ruin an otherwise reputable credit history.
ID theft can happen in many ways. Someone might find documents with your personally identifying information. They may also steal sensitive data from your devices when you’re web browsing on a publicly shared Wi-Fi network. Spam emails, phishing attacks, texting scams, holiday shopping scams and unemployment fraud are other common ways identity theft can occur.
You could also fall victim to different types of identity theft by way of phone scams, mail theft, card skimming or carding, malware, ransomware, spyware, trojan viruses, social media phishing, and most notoriously â large corporate data breaches, which are becoming increasingly common. Over 1,000 data breaches have already been reported in 2021, which is an 17% increase compared to 2020.
The list below represents a summary of common warning signs of identity theft.
Take action:
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How Can You Minimize Your Risk
- Protect your SIN. Dont use it as a piece of ID and never reveal it to anyone unless you are certain the person asking for it is legally entitled to that information. When an organization requests your SIN, ask if it is legally required to collect it, and if not, offer other forms of ID.
- Pay attention to your billing cycle and ask about any missing account statements or suspicious transactions.
- Immediately report lost or stolen credit or debit cards.
- Carry only the ID you need.
- Do not write down any passwords or carry them with you.
- Protect your computer and its information by installing Internet security software products.
- Be extremely careful when you provide personal information via email or over the Internet. Take extra care when providing information on social networking sites such as Facebook.
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Go The Extra Mile After Filing An Identity Theft Report
- âContact your bank, credit union, and credit card issuer’s fraud department. Alert them regarding your case of identity fraud, so you can dispute fraudulent charges and unauthorized transactions instead of being held responsible for them.
- âCancel any compromised accounts and request new account numbers, card numbers, and PIN numbers. And of course, donât forget to change ALL your online passwords for your financial accounts, social media sites, online bill payment portals, and anywhere else your personal information may be stored.
- âGet in the habit of regularly checking your credit reports. Let Aura help you with this. Rather than contacting all three credit bureaus individually, Aura’s fraud resolution team can streamline the process for you.
- Consider an all-in-one digital security solution. Let Aura monitor your personal information and keep your devices secure. We’ll monitor your credit and online accounts 24/7.
- Get an Identity Theft Insurance Policy. Every Aura plan comes with a $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance policy that covers eligible losses due to identity fraud.
- Protect your family from identity theft. Keep your children and spouse safe with Aura’s family plans, which includes premium identity theft protection, credit monitoring, White Glove Fraud Resolution, and $1 million in identity theft insurance for every adult member in your plan.
Ready for ironclad identity theft protection? Try Aura free for 14 days.
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What Types Of Reports Can I File Online
- Damage/Mischief to Motor Vehicle under $10,000.00
- Damage/Mischief to Property under $10,000.00
- Lost Property under $10,000.00
- Theft of Property under $10,000.00
- Theft from Motor Vehicle under $10,000.00
- Supplemental Report
- Driving Complaints Road Watch:- Constant Neighborhood traffic related issues- School bus violations.
How To File An Identity Theft Report Online
Head over to IdentityTheft.gov and choose the prompt that best describes your situation.
Continue to click the appropriate responses, and the online wizard will automatically fill out your Identity Theft Affidavit .
According to the FTCâs privacy policy, you can choose how much personal information you feel comfortable providing. Everything you share will be entered into a secure online database.
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