How to Report Identity Theft

Finding out that someone is trying to steal your identity can be extremely unsettling. Acting quickly can limit the damage to your finances and your credit. Knowing how to report identity theft and who to reach out to can help you stop fraudulent activity and protect your accounts. 

Once the damage is done, you’ll have to recover your credit profile. That can take a lot of effort and consistent financial behavior. Here’s how to report identity theft. 

How to report identity theft

If your identity has been stolen, you need to:

Step 1: Gather evidence of identity theft

Start by collecting any documents that show unauthorized activity on your accounts. This may include:

• Unfamiliar credit card charges
• New accounts you didn’t open
• Collection notices
• Letters from the IRS
• Alerts from a credit bureau 

Make copies of everything. Keeping organized records will make reporting faster and help you resolve disputes later. You should be diligent about monitoring your accounts so that you can pick up on unusual activity as soon as possible. The longer it goes unnoticed, the more damage may be done to your financial profile. 

Step 2: Place a fraud alert or credit freeze 

Reach out to any lender or bank that oversees affected accounts and notify them of your concerns. They can freeze your credit or debit cards and place a fraud alert on your accounts. This will prevent further damage to your financial profile. 

Step 3: Report identity theft to the FTC

You should report any identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. This creates an identity theft report and a personalized recovery plan to help you bounce back. 

Filing an FTC report is important because many creditors and bureaus require it before they will correct any fraudulent activities on your accounts. It’s best to get this step out of the way as early as possible. 

Step 4: Contact affected banks and creditors 

Follow up with your bank or creditors associated with the fraudulent activity. When necessary, ask them to close any compromised accounts and start getting replacement cards. You should also ask them to email you any records relevant to the activity so that you can provide this information to the credit bureaus. 

The entire process can feel tedious and overwhelming, especially if the activity involves numerous creditors. Make a list of every entity you need to contact and take care of it one by one. 

Step 5: File a police report if required

Filing a police report allows you to pursue criminal charges against the individual who stole your identity. Identity theft and fraud cases can be complex to resolve, so it's best to get law enforcement involved as early as possible. 

Provide the law enforcement officer with a reference number from your FTC identity theft report, as well as any other records relevant to the case. 

Step 6: Dispute fraudulent items on your credit report

Review your credit reports and dispute any accounts or inquiries you don’t recognize. If you discover activity that you did not previously report to law enforcement or the FTC, update your reports with those entities as well. 

You can file a dispute with the credit bureaus online or by mail. Kikoff’s free dispute letter generation tool allows you to file electronically with TransUnion. You will need to mail the letters to Experian and Equifax.  

Signs your identity might have been stolen

Identity theft isn’t always obvious right away. Watch for these common red flags:

• Unexpected credit card charges or withdrawals from your accounts
• New credit accounts you didn’t open
• Collection calls for unfamiliar debts
• A drop in your credit score with no clear reason
• A notice from the IRS
• Emails notifying you of new login attempts or password reset requests 

Don’t ignore any of these red flags. Dig into them right away to limit the long-term damage and make the reporting process easier. 

Common mistakes to avoid after identity theft

After finding out your identity has been stolen, it’s easy to make missteps that slow down the road to recovery. Avoid these mistakes:

• Waiting too long to file a report
• Only calling creditors
• Not monitoring your credit afterward
• Paying fraudulent debts
• Ignoring smaller suspicious charges

Make sure you file an official report with the FTC and law enforcement. Document everything and follow up with the credit bureaus to protect your financial history. 

Conclusion

Reporting identity theft is a sequence, and the order matters more than the speed of any single step.

Gather your documentation, place a fraud alert or freeze, then file with the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov since many creditors and bureaus require that report before they'll correct anything. From there, work through your affected creditors one by one and dispute every unfamiliar item on your credit reports.

Just make sure you keep monitoring afterward, since fraudulent activity often surfaces in waves rather than all at once.

Once your reports are clean, Kikoff gives eligible users access to a Kikoff Credit Account with no interest and no hard credit check to sign up, and reports monthly payments to all three credit bureaus.

Build credit with Kikoff and add positive payment history back to your credit profile.