Do This Immediately If Your Identity Has Been Stolen
West Palm Beach is a beautiful slice of South Florida with palm-lined streets and coastal charm. But, it’s also part of a region that has been one of the worst in the entire country for identity theft crimes.
As a matter of fact, a study by the Federal Trade Commission showed that South Florida, including West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, ranked first among the top 50 largest metro areas in the United States for identity theft complaints.
This area had the highest number of identity theft consumer complaints in the country. And that’s on top of the fact that Florida, as a state, led the nation with more than 37,000 identity theft consumer complaints.
So, yeah, if it happened to you, you definitely should reach out to a West Palm Beach identity theft lawyer who can help and advise you on your legal options and the next best steps to take.
What Kind of Information Do Identity Thieves Go After?
Here are the details that are usually stolen by identity thieves:
- Social security numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Bank account details
- Email addresses
- Home and business addresses
- PINs and passwords
- Health insurance info
- Even school transcripts and court records
They use these details for economic gain. They’re not just stealing your money; they’re stealing your ability to be trusted, to get a loan, or to live normally without having to prove you’re not someone else.
Signs That Your Identity Has Been Stolen
If you start experiencing one or more of the following consistently, there’s a high possibility your identity has been stolen:
- You stop getting bills in the mail
- You get weird calls from collectors
- You see credit report entries for things you didn’t buy
- You get denied for loans you should qualify for
What Should You Do The Moment You Realize Your Identity Has Been Stolen?
The very first thing is to place a fraud alert on your credit report. This is like building a fence around your identity so the thief can’t keep opening new fake accounts. You only need to call one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion), and they’ll notify the others for you.
After you do that, you should file a police report right away with the law enforcement agency in your area, even if the crime happened online or in another city. That report is crucial. It lets you extend your fraud alert from 1 year to 7 years, and it’s also your golden ticket when it comes to proving you were a victim and not the criminal.
Then, contact every company that was involved in the fraud. Whether it was a bank, a credit card company, or even your phone carrier, call them. Let them know what happened. Ask for extra security on your account, like having to give a password over the phone before any changes can be made.
You should not forget to check your credit report, and be sure to do so thoroughly. Look for any weird charges, fake accounts, or anything that seems off. You’re allowed one free credit report a year from each bureau, so space them out and check every few months. That way, you don’t miss anything that pops up later.
Report the theft to the FTC through IdentityTheft.gov. It’s not just about reporting. The site will actually give you a custom recovery plan and walk you through the process step by step.
Conclusion
If you want to go the extra mile to protect yourself, you can place a security freeze on your credit report. This isn’t the same as a fraud alert. A freeze locks down your report completely. No one, not even you, can open new accounts unless you lift the freeze. It’s free, and it won’t mess with your credit score.
All three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) have websites where you can request this. It takes about a day to go into effect and an hour to lift if you need to apply for credit.