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How Credit Affects You
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Steps for Buying a Home
Life as a Homeowner






 
Additional Resources
Module 2
How Credit Affects You
Identity Theft and Fraud
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Checklist: What to do if You’re a Victim edge
If you think your identity has been stolen, take the following steps:
  • Contact the three major credit-reporting agencies. Contact the fraud departments of all of the three major agencies to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The initial fraud alert is for 90 days. You can ask for an extended fraud alert if you submit a police report. For contact information for each of the three major agencies, review The Three Main Credit-Reporting Agencies.

  • Close accounts. Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

  • File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

  • File your complaint with the Federal Trade Commision (FTC). The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases for use by law enforcement agencies. Filing a complaint also helps us all learn more about identity theft and any new schemes or scams that may be in use. Go to the FTC Web Site and access the 'File a Complaint' section.


Heard on the Street:
Are you worried about identity theft? What steps do you take to prevent it?		 edge

Jeremy, Age 21
“No … I’m not too worried about identity theft. You know, I don’t really share a lot of personal information on the Internet. But … this guy I know had his stolen, and he swears he was careful. He thinks someone took a picture of his credit card with a cell phone. I don’t know … that seems like an urban legend or something. Still, maybe I’m not careful enough."

Anita, Age 32
“I wasn’t worried about identity theft, until my loan application was denied. I found out that my credit report had some unfamiliar items. Someone used my personal information to open several credit cards. Since they never paid the bills, my credit was ruined. It took several months to get my credit back on track. Now I check my credit report regularly for errors.”

George, Age 41
“Since I do a lot of online banking, I am worried about identity theft. Whenever I am online, spam e-mails try to get me to provide my personal information. I don’t, of course! One thing I always do is create unique passwords. And I try to keep an eye on all my accounts.”

Paula, Age 56
"I’ve seen some commercials on TV about identity theft, but I’m not really sure what it is. I think it has to do with the Internet, but I’m not on the Internet a whole lot, so I don’t have to worry about it, right?"

Responses are not real-life accounts and are provided for illustrative purposes only.

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