What if, after all your efforts to protect yourself from identity theft, you still become a victim? What can you do to reclaim your personal information? Here are some steps you can take to help recover your identity and financial losses:

1. File a Police Report. File a police report with the local police or with the police where the identity theft occurred as soon as possible. You will need this report when you contact the various creditors affected by the theft.

2. Freeze your credit report. Review your credit reports and place a security freeze on them with the following credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This will prevent credit issuers from accessing your credit files without getting your permission first and prevent thieves from opening up new credit card or loan accounts.

3. Contact your creditors. Contact the creditors for any accounts that have been interfered with and close those accounts. Make sure you speak with someone in the fraud or security department and follow up in writing.

4. Get the closed accounts in writing. After you have closed your accounts and followed up in writing. Make sure you get a written confirmation from your creditors that your accounts are closed and that you do not owe them any money.

4. File a complaint. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission through their website (http://www.ftc.gov) or call them at 1-877-438-4338.

5. Flag your accounts. Put a flag alert on all accounts with your financial institutions and ask them to contact you if there is unusual activity.

6. Keep track of all correspondence. Make sure youkeep a detailed and and accurate account of all conversations and correspondence. This will come in handy in the future if further problems arise due to the identity theft.

About the Author:

Carol D’Annunzio is the owner of Divine Virtual Assistance (http://www.divineva.com/) and with 18 years of administrative experience under her belt, she provides expert administrative support to solo-entrepreneurs, empowering them to take their businesses to the next level. Sign up for her monthly newsletter, The Divine Line, and receive a complimentary copy of the eReport, “Five Ways a Virtual Assistant can Impact Your Business and Increase Your Profits,” by visiting Carol’s website at http://www.divineva.com/.

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