Change your passwords
Change passwords for your bank accounts and any other places where financial or personal information is stored.
Your identity. Your peace of mind.
Practical steps from Lacy's identity theft protection guide to help you respond, protect your credit, and secure your financial information.
IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION GUIDE · 4 PAGESDownload this guide
01IF YOUR INFORMATION MAY BE COMPROMISED
Start with the essentials.
File a police report
Keep a copy of your police report and the report number for your records.
02KEEP YOUR CREDIT IN YOUR CONTROL
Check it. Then protect it.
Review your credit reports
Check that no fraudulent loans are being reported. Look for recent credit inquiries you did not authorize, verify outstanding loans are accurate, and check your personal and contact information.
Get your free credit reports · AnnualCreditReport.comFreeze all three credit bureaus
The guide recommends credit freezes with TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Freezes are free; optional credit-monitoring services may cost extra.
Lacy recommends keeping freezes in place and temporarily lifting them when you need to apply for credit, such as a mortgage. The original guide describes temporary and permanent freezes; follow each bureau's current process for placing and lifting yours.
Consider credit-monitoring alerts
The guide suggests alerts to notify you if new inquiries or accounts appear under your Social Security number. It notes that monitoring may involve a fee. A freeze helps restrict access to your credit report for new credit; it does not replace protecting your existing accounts.
03PROTECT YOUR TAX RETURNS
Put official safeguards in place.
Use the IRS resource center and the agencies below for the steps recommended in the guide.
IRS identity theft guide & resource centerGet an IRS Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)Report a compromised SSN · Social Security AdministrationReport a compromised SSN · Federal Trade Commission
The IRS link opens a stable official guidance page in place of the document's session-specific sign-in link.
04PROTECT YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS
One more layer of protection.
Place a ChexSystems security freeze
The guide describes ChexSystems as a credit-report-like service used when opening deposit accounts, such as checking or savings. Its statement that all financial institutions use it should not be read as a universal guarantee.
You can lift a freeze when you want to open an account and re-freeze afterward. The guide says a PIN is mailed for use when lifting a freeze; check the current instructions directly with ChexSystems.
ChexSystems · Security freeze informationStep-by-step ChexSystems guide · ExperianChexSystems customer service: 1-800-428-9623 Customer-service number as provided in the source guide.YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT ALONE
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