Has Your Identity Been Stolen? How to Find Out & Recover

No matter who you are, every single person in the world runs the risk of having their identity and confidential information stolen. Identity thieves aim to extract as much information as possible about a person and then use it to impersonate them or steal money. There are many ways to tell if someone has stolen your identity, which we will be going over. We will also mention the best steps that you can take to recover the information and repair the situation.

Changes to Your Credit Card Bill

Noticing changes to your credit card bill is one of the most obvious signs of identity theft. You might see strange charges on your bill for things that you did not order. You may also notice withdrawals of cash from your chequing account, usually small amounts to not arouse suspicion.

Another change you may observe is if your banking statements are no longer mailed to you when you do not update your paperless billing preference. This is an indication that someone is trying to impersonate you and has modified your mailing address.

A Second Tax Filing Occurs

If you receive a notification that a second tax filing has happened in your name, this is cause for suspicion. Identity thieves will often try to file a return in someone else’s name in the hopes of stealing the refund that gets issued.

Unfamiliar Medical Bills Appear

Healthcare is often a primary motive for stealing someone’s identity. The thief will use your health benefits without you knowing. This plot is usually uncovered when the victim receives a statement of medical expenses that they do not recognize. They also may receive a denial for medical coverage because the thief has maxed out the limit.

Next Steps

Now that you have confirmed that your hunch was accurate, what can you do in terms of recovery options? We have outlined these steps below.

Conduct a Background Check on Yourself

By conducting a background check on yourself, you will have access to information such as all your known addresses, aliases, education, and employment history. You will also be able to see credit and bankruptcy information. If the imposter has left a trail that you can follow, you will be able to confirm that your name is being used illegally. Third-party background services such as a public data check can have the complete reports sent to you within a few hours in some cases. You will have all the information you need to report the imposter to the police.

Contact Your Bank and Credit Agency

Your priority should be to mitigate the damage. Call your bank or creditor ASAP and let them know the situation. They will immediately freeze your accounts so that the imposter can not take any more money out.

You do not want the imposter to permanently impact your credit score, as this can severely limit your options in the future. After you have talked to the bank, call a credit reporting agency. You will ask them to place a fraud alert on your credit report. With that alert in place, it is difficult for the imposter to continue opening fraudulent accounts, and businesses need to reach out before issuing credit in your name.

Comb Through Your Credit Report

When you think you may be the victim of identity theft, you can request a credit report in your name. This report will show a statement of your credit history, including your applications for loans. When someone is fraudulently using your name, your credit score will likely become negatively impacted. By reviewing your report, you will be able to easily identify unfamiliar activities and report the situation to the authorities. You can request to close the fraudulent accounts and all the inaccurate information removed from the report.

File a Police Report

If you choose to, you can go to your local police department to file a report relating to the theft. This police report is your backup documentation if there are any doubts that the crime occurred. Try to give them as much information as you know yourself. This could include which exact transactions were fraudulent, the affected accounts, and the imposter’s address (if you could find anything on them during the background check).

Contact the FTC

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has a section on its website where people can report cases of identity theft. They also have a phone number if you prefer to explain the situation to someone directly. The FTC will come up with a plan of recovery for your situation and let you know what you can expect in the immediate future.

Change Passwords

As a security precaution, you should change all the passwords to your accounts, especially the ones that were directly affected by the crime. Make the passwords as strong as you can by including a variety of letters, symbols, and numbers. Avoid making them easy to guess by including personal information that identifies you in some way.

Get New ID

During this process, you may have realized that someone stole your identity because you lost a piece of identification. This could include your driver’s license, credit card, passport, or social security card. It can be time-consuming to request replacements of these items, but it must happen. After you get the replacements, be sure to keep them in secure places and do not leave them lying around while you are out at restaurants or parties.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes