6 helpful steps: What to Do If You Fall Victim to Fraud

Discovering you’ve been scammed or had your identity stolen is unsettling, but the steps you take in the first few hours can make a real difference in limiting the damage. Here’s a practical roadmap for what to do next.

1. Act immediately, don’t wait

If you suspect fraud, the first priority is stopping further damage. Close any compromised accounts right away, and report the incident to your local police department. The Department of Justice and IdentityTheft.gov both offer step-by-step help for this stage, and IdentityTheft.gov will generate a personalized recovery plan along with an official identity theft report.

2. Contact the credit reporting companies

Reach out to at least one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) to place a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit report. Whichever one you contact is required to notify the other two.

3. Understand your alert options

• Initial fraud alert: Lasts one year and requires creditors to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name. You’re also entitled to a free credit report from each bureau.
• Extended alert: Available once you’ve filed a report at IdentityTheft.gov. It lasts seven years, requires more rigorous identity verification, and removes you from prescreened credit and insurance offer lists for five years.
• Active-duty alert: For service members deployed away from their usual duty station. It lasts 12 months and can be renewed if deployment continues.

4. Consider a security freeze

A security freeze goes a step further than an alert by blocking new creditors from viewing your credit file at all, which makes it much harder for someone to open new accounts in your name. Freezes are free, but you must place one with each bureau individually since they don’t share freeze requests the way they share fraud alerts. Keep in mind a freeze won’t stop someone from misusing an account you already have open.

5. Get fraudulent information removed from your credit report

If fake accounts or debts show up on your credit report, you can request that the credit bureaus block them. You’ll need to send each bureau:

• An identity theft report (created through IdentityTheft.gov)
• Proof of your identity
• A letter listing the fraudulent debts and information

Bureaus must block the information within four business days of receiving your request, and they’re required to notify the companies that reported it that identity theft was involved. Once that happens, those debts can’t be sent to collections.

6. Keep records and follow up

Save copies of every report, letter, and confirmation number along the way. Fraud recovery often takes multiple follow-ups, so having a paper trail makes it easier to dispute any lingering errors. If you run into problems with how a credit reporting company handles your case, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB.