New Tool To Fight Identity Theft

Sometimes you find out when you file your tax return: someone has hijacked your Social Security number.  Sometimes the thieves put a device into your ATM or department store cash register and steal your identifying information. It can even happen when you buy gas.  Recovering from the theft and damage to your credit can be a nightmare. Imagine how overwhelming it is when the victim is your aging parent. Finally the government is offering a tool to help you.  This is particularly good for assisting seniors who may not be so savvy with the internet.  IdentityTheft.gov is clear, simple and offers a step by step plan.  This was just announced by the Federal Trade Commission and in reviewing it, I am happily surprised.  I am not normally a fan of how government agencies explain to consumers how to do things.  To me government sites are not generally created  with the clearest and simplest way of communicating with the public. This one, however, is different.

Here’s how it works.  You or your aging parent, if computer literate, signs on to IdentifyTheft.com. The site walks the user through a sign in and then gives you instruction as to what to do first.  That is to call the companies where the fraud occurred. One would of course see where the out of line charges were on your credit card statement or any other bill that is wrong.  It tells you to ask them to freeze the accounts. You then change all logins, passwords and PINS for these accounts.

Following that, the site instructs the user how to place a fraud alert on your credit report and tells you how to get a free credit report.  The next step is to report the identity theft to the FTC and it gives you an online form to fill out.  The system then creates an Identity Theft Affidavit for you.  Finally, the program instructs you to file a local police report, tells you what you need to take with you to do so and offers you an online memo form to give to law enforcement which you can also use.