Click here to learn more about Identity Theft Awareness Week 2024.

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Is someone using your personal or financial information to make purchases, get benefits, file taxes, or commit fraud? That's identity theft. Visit ldentityTheft.gov to report identity theft and get a personal recovery plan.

• Get a personal recovery plan that walks you through each step.
• Update your plan and track your progress.
• Print pre-filled letters and forms to send to credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors.

There's detailed advice for tax, medical, and child identity theft - plus over thirty other types of identity theft. No matter what type of identity theft you've experienced, the next page tells you what to do right away.

Step 1: Call the companies where you know fraud occurred. Call their fraud department. Explain that someone stole your identity. Ask them to close or freeze the accounts. Then, no one can add new charges unless you agree. Change logins, passwords, and PINs for your accounts.

Step 2: Place a fraud alert and get your credit reports. To place a free fraud alert, contact one of the three credit bureaus. That company must tell the other two. A fraud alert lasts one year. It will make it harder for someone to open new accounts in your name.

Next, get your free credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Go to annualcreditreport.com or call 877.322.8228.

Review your reports. Make a note of any account or transaction you don't recognize. This will help you report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the police.

Step 3: Report Identity Theft to the FTC.

Go to ldentityTheft.gov, and include as many details as possible. Based on the information you enter, ldentityTheft.gov will create your Identity Theft Report and recovery plan.

Finally: Your next step might be closing accounts opened in your name, or reporting fraudulent charges to your credit card company.
ldentityTheft.gov can help - no matter what your specific identity theft situation is.