CYBER WATCH
need to contact one company, as that company is required to contact the other two companies to replicate your request. All three companies will then send a con- firmation to you that will confirm that you have placed a fraud alert on your files. Step 4: Obtain copies of your credit re- ports when you file the fraud alert. You can receive one free copy of your credit report from each agency when you file a fraud alert. The credit reports will outline any fi- nancial, residential, and even medical or criminal activity that has been filed under your name. Read over these reports care- fully and pay special attention to “credit inquiries” that appear unusual to you. Step 5: Create an ID Theft Report with at- tached Fraudulent Account Statement. To relieve yourself from any debts incurred by an identity theft, you must prove to every company where fraudulent accounts were opened or where accounts in your name were used that you didn’t create that debt. The information contained on the report and its attached Fraudulent Account State- ment will enable companies to investigate the fraud and to decide the claim out- come. Step 6: Report stolen checques and close unauthorized chequing and savings ac- counts. The longer you wait to contact any bank or credit card company, the more li- ability you may take on for fraudulent ac- tivity. If you have had cheques stolen or bank accounts set up fraudulently, report it to your bank or to one of the cheque ver- ification companies listed below. Step 7: Begin to call companies for any information that can help you prove your identity theft. You have the right to obtain any documentation that relates to fraudu- lent transactions made on your accounts or on accounts opened in your name and that use your personal information. You may need to ask for copies of credit or other business applications in writing. Step 8: Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Once you have an idea about the companies where you have tampered accounts or where accounts have been opened in your name, the se- curity or fraud department within those companies can close those accounts.
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Step 9: Contact all your other creditors to notify them about the theft. If you have ac- counts that appear to be untouched, do not close those accounts. Once you begin this identity theft recovery process, you may find that new accounts will be diffi- cult to open — even for you. However, contact these companies to inform them about your dilemma and to change your Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) and your passwords. Step 10: Report stolen ATM, debit, pre- paid cards. Step 11: File a report with your local police. Step 12: Find all your bills. Begin to look for and organize all old bills to make sure that a bill isn’t missing. A missing bill may indicate that a thief has changed a billing address or that one was stolen to gather your personal information. As you find bills, examine them to make sure that they’re accurate. Before you pay another bill ex- amine it to make sure all charges are ac- curate and report unauthorized charges immediately to the company. Step 13: Question any callers who want your information. Anytime someone calls to ask for your personal information, find out what that information will be used for and why it’s required. If a caller states that they’re from your credit card com- pany, tell them you’ll call back, hang up, and use the number on the back of your card or the number on your bill to return the call. Step 14: Stop businesses that may report information about you to a CRA. You also may prevent a business from reporting in- formation about you to consumer reporting agencies if you believe the information to be false. To do so, you must send your re- quest to the address specified by the busi- ness that reports the information to the consumer reporting agency. The business will expect you to identify what information you do not want reported and to provide an identity theft report. Step 15: Contest bills. When you refuse to pay off debts, you have entered into a billing dispute. If this dispute begins with a call from a collection agency, simply state that you’re willing to cooperate but unwilling to pay the debt. When disputing credit card bills, you must conduct this
dispute in writing by following the dispute instruction provided by any given credit card company. Step 16: Expect to deal with false civil and criminal judgements. Thanks to criminal identity theft, victims are wrongfully ac- cused of crimes committed by the thief. If judgements are entered in your name for actions taken or for debts incurred by the thief, contact the court where the judge- ment was entered and report your status as a victim. Step 17: Seek legal advice. At this point you may want to consult an attorney to de- termine whether you need to take legal ac- tion or to defend yourself against false civil and criminal charges. Focus on finding a lawyer who specializes in consumer law. Step 18: Secure all your personal infor- mation. If you keep personal information in your home or office, secure that infor- mation. This action is especially important if strangers have access to either area. Step 19: Don’t leave any stone unturned. Be persistent with the steps above and follow through with requirements. If a company wants information from you, you need to call to make sure they received it. If a collection agency or a creditor prom- ises to remove an offending piece of data, get that promise in writing. If you don’t re- ceive confirmation within 10 days, call every day until you see results. You can also obtain new copies of your credit re- ports so that you can verify if the agency followed through. If not, then copy the re- port and send it to the agency along with all pertinent documentation, and demand that the change be made.
There is no doubt that cases of identity theft are on the rise. It is a crime that can damage a victim for life, which is why knowing what to do when you believe your identity has been compromised is vital to reducing the potential damage.
Brent MacLean is the founder and CEO of J.B. MacLean Consulting (
www.jbm.net) and Cana- dian Intelligence Solutions. He has more than 22 years
of experience in network, security, and in- frastructure design and troubleshooting.
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