Identity Theft Protection Guide (1) - Flipbook - Page 2
Initial steps:
Change passwords to bank accounts and any other places financial information or
personal information is stored
File a police report
Be sure to keep record of your police report & police report number
Steps to protect your credit:
Check your credit to ensure no fraudulent loans are reporting
Check it for free: AnnualCreditReport.com
Look for any recent credit inquiries you didn’t authorize
Ensure outstanding loans reporting are accurate
Ensure personal information including contact information is accurate
Freeze all three credit bureaus:
Transunion
Equifax
Experian
Credit freezes are free but they each offer additional credit monitoring services for a fee.
Each credit bureau offers temporary or permanent freezes. I strongly recommend
permanent freezes to ensure your credit remains protected 24/7 and if you ever need to
lift a freeze (to apply for a mortgage, for example), you can temporarily lift the freeze at
any time.
Consider adding credit alerts - Credit bureaus will typically charge for this service but
will alert you if any new inquiries or accounts have been open under your SSN. However,
if you have your credit reports frozen, that will prevent anyone from being able to pull
your credit or open accounts without your authorization.
