Credit agency Charlotte

Once you have received your free credit reports as a part of the fraud-alert process, follow credit agency Charlotte up in a few months by taking advantage of your free credit agency Charlotte FACTA copy. We recommend that you order your free credit reports by credit agency Charlotte phone rather than using the online system. For more on free credit reports, see http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/freereports/index.shtml and www.annualcreditreport.com.

Laws in several states give individuals additional opportunities to obtain free credit reports. For confirmed identity credit agency Charlotte theft victims who live in California, you can get one free report each month for the first 12 credit agency Charlotte months upon request. (California Civil credit agency Charlotte Code 1785.15.3) And in seven states, whether a victim or not, you can receive one free credit report each year under credit agency Charlotte state law, over and above the free FACTA report you can receive yearly under federal law. These states are: Colorado, Georgia (2 per year), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont.

Security freeze. As of November 2007, individuals nationwide are able to "freeze" their credit reports with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. free credit monitoring

By freezing your credit reports, you can prevent credit issuers from accessing your credit files except when you give permission. This effectively prevents credit agency Charlotte thieves from opening up new credit card and loan accounts. In most states, security freezes are available at no charge to identity theft victims and for a relatively small credit agency Charlotte fee for non-victims. If your identity thief is aggressive and gives no indication of ceasing to use your identity to obtain credit, consider credit agency Charlotte using the security freeze to reduce access to your credit file.

The security freeze is free to victims credit agency Charlotte of identity theft in most credit agency Charlotte states.

Non-victims who wish to activate the security freeze for prevention must pay a fee in most states. credit online report Some states make the security freeze available only to identity theft victims. Law enforcement. Report the crime to your local police or sheriff's department right away.

You credit agency Charlotte might also need to report it to police department(s) where the crime occurred if it's somewhere other than where you live. Make sure the police report lists the fraudulent accounts .

Get a copy of the report, which is called an "identity theft report" under the FCRA. Keep the phone number credit agency Charlotte of your investigator handy and give it to creditors and others who require verification of your case. Credit card companies and banks may require you to show the credit agency Charlotte report in order to verify the crime.

FTC regulations define an "identity theft report" to include a report made to a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency. If your local police department refuses to file a report and your situation credit agency Charlotte involves fraudulent use of the U.S. mail, you can obtain credit agency Charlotte an identity theft report from the U.S. If your case involves fraudulent use of a driver's license in your name, you might be able to obtain a report from your state's Department credit agency Charlotte of Motor Vehicles. report credit card The FTC has more information on identity theft credit agency Charlotte reports at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html 3. Federal Trade Commission. Report the crime to the FTC. Although the FTC does not itself investigate identity theft cases, they share such information with investigators nationwide who are fighting identity theft. What to do with new credit accounts opened by the imposter. If your credit report shows that credit agency Charlotte the imposter has opened new accounts in your name, contact those creditors credit agency Charlotte immediately by telephone and in writing.