P.S. AFTER STEP 1 (CALLING EQUIFAX TO LOCK YOUR ACCOUNT) IS IF YOU KNOW YOUR ID WAS STOLEN. IF YOU ARE NOT A VICTEM OF FRAUD, ITS NOT NECESSARY TO CONTACT THE FTC, IRS, OR SS. just monitor your account through equifax (technically they do it for you lol, just sit back and wait for those emails that say "hey, no news is good news"
Step 1:
Its a good idea to call equifax anyway because you should always keep an eye on your credit score, its just good info to have. But call equifax and Have them put a fraud alert on your SS#. They will alert the other 2 credit unions for you. (There are 3 total).
--- Might want to purchase thier lifelock product, its about $120 a year and its very worth the piece of mind, they will monitor your SS# and any CC numbers you want to put in there. It will also give you access to your Credit reports and scores and give you email or text updates about what goes on with your accounts immediately.
--- once your a member and set up your account. they will walk you through it on the phone when you buy the product, (they will give you a discount as well given your situation, thats why its like 120$ a year) but after its all set up, hang up, call them back, and have them verify you to get back in your account, just tell them you wanted to make sure the rep got the information down correctly(they didnt for me the first time and it threw me in a panic when i called to check my status cause they had my bday wrong and i was like what the hell...)
--- ask them about a personal representative form that you can have sent to you, so you can list for example, your parents on your account so they can call on your behalf as well.. i promise you, your going to get fed up at one point and just wont be able to take it anymore, and if you can get them to make a call for you (p.s. when all is said and done you will be on the phone for like 3-6 hours) it will take a load off your mind.
Step 2:
contact the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) let them know what happened and they will also flag your account for review, and document that you (and i mean YOU) are attempting to set the record strait. because from this point forward documentation will be your life. But the FTC is more like a business that is designed to gather info on whats goin wrong to prevent it in the future, not helpful immediately for you but still a good service.
Step 3:
The FTC may ask you to create a police report, you can google your local police dpt, call them and find out what precinct you should go to for your area, you will need documentation before you go there though, but since you called equifax first they will be sending you a letter outlining your incident and your new life lock, that should suffice. get your Police report number, call the FTC back and give it to them. its just documentation is all.
Step 4:
(this is for people like myself who KNOW they have had an ID Theft) you can call the IRS and have them flag your account as well. they will tell you to call the credit unions (which you did), then file a police report (which you did) and contact Social Security (which you really dont need to do right now, just hold on to all documentation).. the only time social security comes into effect is for example, if someone had your ID and they were causing you to have more income then you file for, because they are adding thier W2 to yours but your only aware of yours.. either way this really doesnt apply to you because you called equifax and they are monitoring your account so it wont happen.
After that.. just relax... Its ok to panic for a bit, but honestly, if your like me and my age, i called my mom and freaked out then she walked me through it, your rents will too (im saying this cause im sure theres alot of 20'somethings out there with ps3's who are paniced right now). when all is said and done. the end result is, your life from this point forward will just require an extra password that the IRS wont file your taxes without (no biggie) and anytime anyone runs your credit, for example if your applying for a loan for a house, or want to get into an apt, you call equifax to let them know, and they will lift the lock temporarily for the apt complex.. all in all you will learn alot about life, and how things work, basically you will... to quote bruce willis "Cowbow the F'k up" real quick.
Remember people: take necessary steps to not give away your personal info. i suggest cutting the fat from your facebooks.. no need for your address, place of employment, email address, phone number, dogs name, and mothers maiden name to be all over it... because GUESS WHAT... when you call the IRS... Credit unions... social security... etc.... that is EXACTLY what they ask you to identify who you are... im not even kidding, not even a little bit...
P.S- The last time you filed taxes without incident.. get that info together and always have it at the ready, because thats what the IRS will go by to verify you as well..
Please leave any questions or comments i'll try to check back here periodically to throw my experience in, also google and your parents are your friend. if your ever unsure about anything, ask a question. people get paid money to answer your questions all day. places like H&R block, IRS customer service, Equifax, and to a lesser degree Social Security Dpt (they were rude to me).
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