And on top of that, Freeman had just paid my mortgage and all my bills, so she had checks bouncing and couldn’t access her money because the bank froze her account.
“I called the bank and the investigator for weeks trying to figure out how this could’ve happened, who was going to reimburse me and when. Out of frustration, I left a message for the president of the bank and someone called me back saying they’d take care of everything,†she says. “Ultimately, I got my $3,000 and the fees were reimbursed, but it shouldn’t have taken so long and I shouldn’t have been charged any fees since the bank knew my situation. The only reason I got as far as I did was because I started getting upset, something I wish I’d done sooner.â€
Despite the experience, Freeman learned a valuable lesson about safeguarding her belongings.
“I’ve helped other people through identity theft before, so I wasn’t impacted as much as the average person. I still feel like I could never go back to feeling as secure about my personal information as I did before this happened, but I know for sure that I won’t be leaving my purse on the passenger seat of my car anymore.â€
Stop Thief!–Strategies for thwarting potential damage from identity theft
React quickly. Freeman believes that reporting your identity theft and canceling your accounts right away can help prevent thieves from draining your accounts and damaging your credit score.
File the right reports. Start with an in-person police report, followed by an online Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Complaint Form (www.ftc.gov), which the FTC shares with other law enforcement agencies. If local law enforcement refuses to take a report of your I.D. theft, ask for a miscellaneous incident report instead.
Take preventative measures. Place a free 90-day fraud alert on credit reports with the three major credit-reporting agencies. Once expired, use your police report to request seven-year extended fraud alert, and check your credit reports often for unauthorized activity.
Resources
Identity Theft Resource Center
Federal Trade Commission
Credit Reporting Agencies
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Innovis: 1-800-540-2505; Consumer Assistance, P.O. Box 1358, Columbus, OH 43216
Chex Systems: 1-800-428-9623; Consumer Relations, 7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100, Woodbury, MN 55125
Check Processing Systems
Telecheck: 1-800-710-9898; Fraud, Identity Theft and Forgery Division, 5251 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77056
BlackEnterprise.com’s Credit Card Predatory Practice Prevention Checklist