If you discover that an identity thief has changed the billing address on an existing account, close the account. When you open a new account, ask that a password be used before any inquiries or changes can be made on the account.

Credit cards

Include all accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service providers. If you're closing existing accounts and opening new ones, use new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords. If there are fraudulent charges or debits, ask the company about the following forms for disputing those transactions:

• For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit. If they don't then ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute.
• For your existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms.
• If your ATM has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card as soon as you can. Get a new card with a new PIN.

Checks

If your checks have been stolen or misused, close the account and ask your bank to notify the appropriate check verification service. While no federal law limits your losses if someone steals your checks and forges your signature, state laws may protect you. Most states hold the bank responsible for losses for a forged check, but they also require you to take reasonable care of your account. For example, you may be held responsible for the forgery if you fail to notify the bank in a timely way that a check was lost or stolen. Contact your state bank or consumer protection agency for more information.

You also should contact these major check verification companies to find out if the identity thief has been passing bad checks in your name. Ask that retailers who use their databases not accept your checks.

Once you receive your reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries you didn't initiate, accounts you didn't open, and unexplained debts on your true accounts. Where "inquiries" appear from the company(ies) that opened the fraudulent account(s), request that these "inquiries" be removed from your report.

You also should check that information such as your Social Security Number (SSN),
address(es), name or initial, and employers are correct. Inaccuracies in this information also may be due to typographical errors. Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are due to fraud or error, you should notify the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone and in writing.

You should continue to check your reports periodically, especially in the first year after you have discovered the theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred. The automated "one-call" fraud alert process only works for the initial placement of your fraud alert. Orders for additional credit reports or renewals of your fraud alerts must be made separately at each of the three major credit bureaus.