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Internet Fruad Victim's Guide
If you've fallen prey to a Phishing Scam or Other type of Online Fraud,
immediately follow these steps. Do it quick. The faster the authorities know of
your case, the more likely they'll be able to protect you and others from the
scam.
Close any affected online accounts
- Contact the company, bank or organization that
the scam is masquerading as. If you contact the real company immediately, they
may be able to lessen the damage to you and others.
- Most companies have a security or fraud department-
inform them about the scam and how it has affected you. It is important to tell
every bank or financial institution you deal with, including credit card
companies, utilities, Internet service providers, and other places where you
regularly use your credit card.
- Keep track of your correspondence. Save a
copy for yourself of all the communications between you and the various
institutions where you were scammed.
- Close any affected online accounts and any
accounts which use the same information (usernames, passwords, secret
questions...) as the affected ones.
- Change the passwords on all of your online accounts,
starting with the ones that deal with your finances such as banks. Change the
passwords to your email addresses that may contain conformation of your online
identity (passwords, usernames, secret questions...).
- Make your new accounts stronger, Use long
complex passwords, not simple passwords such as your phone number, your
children's names or birthdates, or words like "password", "blablabla" and
"abcdefg".
Request a fraud alert on your credit reports
- Request a copy of your credit report (free of charge for
victims of ID theft) and ask that no new credit be granted without your
specific approval.
- Make sure your credit is marked with a "fraud alert" tag
and a "victim's statement". Insist that the alerts remain for seven years (the
maximum).
- Make your requests by post and keep copies of them for
yourself. Once you receive the reports, look them over carefully. Mark things
like inquiries you didn't initiate, new accounts, and unexplained charges.
- To reach your credit bureau, contact your bank or financial
institution, and ask to be directed to the relevant organization or agency.
Contact the relevant authorities
In the United States, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- File a complaint. If you are a victim of any type of
identity theft, you can report the theft by calling the FTC's toll-free
Identity Theft Hotline at (877) ID-THEFT or (877) 438-4338. Counselors will
advise you on how to deal with the credit-related problems that can result from
identity theft.
- Download and print the FTC's Identity Theft affidavit. Fill
it out and send it to credit card agencies to help minimize your responsibility
for any debts incurred by those who stole your identity. Your case will be
entered in the FTC's nationwide "Consumer Sentinel" database of ID theft cases,
which helps law enforcement agencies find criminal patterns and catch the
thieves.
Outside of the United States, file a report with your local police department
- Get a copy of the police report to notify your bank,
credit card company, and other creditors that you are a victim of a crime, not
a credit abuser. Depending on where you live, you might be required to file a
report in the jurisdiction where the crime actually took place.
Keep a record of everything
- Always keep printed copies of all the relevant documents
for yourself. These include e-mails, written correspondence, and any telephone
call records (if you have them). Make sure top keep these files somewhere safe.
- Follow up any telephone or person-to-person conversation
with a dated confirmation letter, and save a copy of it. Make sure to detail
the conversation, and any follow-up correspondence you or the representative
had committed to.
Additional resources
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