Identity theft is a serious crime, which can have serious consequences. That is why reporting identity thefts is so important. When you report identity theft, you increase the chances of catching the thief. The more identity thieves caught, the more likely the next would be criminal will think twice about trying to steal your identity. More importantly, reporting identity thefts protects you. You are not liable for transactions made by an identity thief in your name, but if you do not report it, you cannot benefit from this fact. The problem is that in order for reporting identity thefts to be possible, you need to know the identity theft is happening.
The problem with finding out about identity theft is that you can generally only find out if someone tells you. For example, if an unusually large sum of money is withdrawn from your bank account via ATM, the bank will often call you to verify that this is okay. However, if someone applies for a loan or a credit card in your name, he or she will probably not provide any information for the lender to use to contact you, since he or she is pretending to be you. He or she might even use your personal information to set up a new bank account in your name with his or her contact information. In this way, the thief can do a tremendous amount of damage to your accounts and reputation before you find out what is happening.
This is a daunting problem but there is a solution. A credit monitoring service will email you whenever there is any major activity with your credit report or credit score. You’ll get the information you need to decide whether this is normal activity, a misunderstanding, or a likely case of identity theft. Then you can report the situation immediately, before major damage is done.
Once alerted to suspicious activity on your account, you can report it. The first thing you should do is make sure that the activity does not belong there. If there is a record of a loan application you did not make, a credit card you didn’t apply for, or a bank account you don’t have, there’s a problem. Go through the report and make a note of all activity that does not belong. Then contact each bank or lending agency in turn and let them know that you are not responsible for the activity and you suspect you are a victim of identity theft. They will not hold you responsible for any fraudulent actions perpetrated by the identity thief in your name. Once you have cleared things up with the lending agency or bank, give the credit report bureaus a call. It may take them a while to get the information, so let them know right away in order for them to restore your credit score to its proper place.