Identity Theft Protection Advice

In terms of identity theft prevention is better than the cure, because these sorts of cases can be difficult to resolve, and can take months of time consuming work contacting all of the relevant authorities and account providers and putting in claims for reimbursement for any fraudulent charges on your accounts.  You may even have trouble proving that the theft happened in the first place, as there are many cases of people pretending that they have been a victim of identity theft in order to get out of paying debts or even avoid criminal charges.

Identity Theft Case File

It is important that as soon as you find out you have been a victim of identity theft that you start reporting this to the account providers and relevant authorities as quickly as possible, and keep copies of all of your correspondence and any replies in a file so that you have a complete record of your case.  Also jot down any telephone conversations that you have had in the process of resolving your case and the name of the representative you spoke to, as all of this evidence could be useful in the future if you are called to provide additional proof that the identity theft happened.  If you take your time in reporting the crime then this gives the thieves even more opportunities to misuse the personal data they have stolen, and account providers may be less willing to reimburse you for any fraudulent charges during this time as you may have avoided them if you had reported it sooner.

Inform Law Enforcement Agencies

You must inform the local law enforcement agencies (police, FBI and Secret Service) that you have been a victim of identity theft and place a copy of the report number on your case file, as this can be a valuable piece of evidence to show your account providers you are serious if they express any concerns about the legitimacy of your identity theft claims.