Emergency contacts

When you find signs of identity theft on your credit reports, it is important to notify the proper authorities. These are the people you need contact first.

Your financial institutions - Your first step should be to contact the bank, creditor or lender associated with the account that has been used fraudulently. Work with these institutions to lock the account and investigate the damages.

The credit reporting agencies - You only need to call one credit reporting bureau if you would like to place a fraud alert on your account. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be notified to also place fraud alerts on your account.

• TransUnion
  To report fraud, call the Fraud Victim Assistance Division:        800-680-7289
  or write: P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634


• Equifax
  To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285
  or write: P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241


• Experian
  To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  or write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen TX 75013

The Federal Trade Commission - Visit the FTC online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft to file a fraud complaint and complete an identity theft affidavit. You can also call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).

The police - If your identity theft case is serious, you may want to file a police report to document the identity theft. You may need a copy of the report to submit to the credit reporting agencies or financial institutions as proof of the crime.