Credit Card Fraud / Identity Theft Victim Procedures

Notes for me, going through this crap ---- 
DONT FREAK OUT - READ THIS - I wish I had saw that first yesterday. 
GO TO: IdentityTheft.gov - Recovery Steps 

More info. for assurance:
How can I spot identity theft? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

What do I do if I’ve been a victim of identity theft? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

Usually, credit card companies provide free credit score and or credit report, with one of the 3 credit reporting bureaus within the United States.

The 3 Major Credit Reporting Agencies:

  • Equifax 
    Mail: P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348
  • Experian 
    Phone: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) 

    Mail: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013

  • TransUnion
    Phone: 833-395-6938
    Mail: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016


1) Review credit card statements, highlight and then call credit card company and disputed unauthorized charges made on it (each card). 

2) Get credit reports from all 3 credit unions (they don't all have the same info.) 

Once per year - Annual Free Credit Report can be obtained for all 3 credit unions on one website: 
AnnualCreditReport.com/
until December 2022, the three credit bureaus are offering free weekly reports.2

3) Place security freeze (aka credit freeze) and fraud alert with each credit union. It's mostly done online, but with complications - then call all 3 individually. 


4) Dispute inaccurate information - and speak to Fraud Dept. from each credit union about unauthorized hard inquiries placed. 
Get phone number to each place and call them to cancel each card and account - ASAP. 
Especially if it's new and recent; if you're lucky they didn't get a temp. credit account to start charging for purchases. 


5) Opt Out of Pre-Approval seeking soft inquiries 
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/


6) File a fraud report then submit it to credit unions.

* Visit FTC.GOV (Federal Trade Commission) 
which makes reports available to federal, state, and local law enforcement across the country.
If you filed a report at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov) they'll end up sharing with FTC (according to their site.)
Fraud and scams CFPB
Consumer Sentinel, a database available to federal, state, and local law enforcement across the country. 
FTC's Identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338)

*** ReportFraud.ftc.gov
is the federal government's website where you can report fraud, scams, and bad business practices.
you can call the FTC's Consumer Response Center at 877-382-4357.


*** IdentityTheft.gov


For international (Or need another language, that's not just Spanish)
econsumer.gov: econsumer - Report international scams online!


For New Yorkers, this police report can NOT be filed online. And the police usually don't and won't spend time investigating identity theft. (The most is they will file a report if needed to dispute fraudulent charges with credit card companies. And there's hoops to jump just to do that by their criteria)
Counties (ny.gov) (for NYC 5 boroughs)
Office of the Queens Borough President:  queensbp.org


Notary: will only stamp and notarize as proof that they witnessed a signature. 
And banks can act like complete assholes about it when you want them to notarize their documents to file a police report locally. (Example: Citi Banks in Rego Park, NY) 




Other: 

Attorney Generals in each State: Find my AG - National Association of Attorneys General (naag.org)

Information Quality Guidelines | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

Submit a complaint | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

Reporting fraud or identity theft to authorities | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

When should I review my credit report? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov) 

What are specialty consumer reporting agencies and what kind of information do they collect? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

The information specialty consumer reporting companies collect depends on the reporting company and its specialty industry.

Reports may be compiled from your history of:

Consumer reporting companies | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)
A list of companies. 

Useful and often recommended site: Local Governments at USA.Gov

Extra Reading 

SIGTARP, CFPB, and Treasury form Joint Task Force to Combat HAMP Mortgage Modification Scams; Release a Consumer Fraud Alert to Protect Homeowners | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

Making Home Affordable . GOV 

What is a tenant screening report? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)


consumerresources.org


Data and Visualizations | Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov)
Protection
How To Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network | Consumer Advice (ftc.gov)






READ TOO
https://d.comenity.net/gamestop/common/security/IdentityTheft.xhtml

https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/list-of-credit-card-companies/


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