IMMEDIATE Steps for ID Restoration

1. Contact your bank, service providers and secure your online accounts

• Call your bank to dispute the charges and cancel any stolen credit card numbers.
• Call the companies where fraudulent purchases took place. Ask them to close or freeze accounts. For example, if someone made a fraudulent purchase on Amazon, you would contact Amazon customer service.
• Enable 2FA, change passwords and pins for ALL online accounts. 2FA prevents hackers access to your accounts, even if they have your password. Nowadays, having only a password is not enough for your security, so enabling 2FA is one of the best ways to protect your online identity.

2. Place fraud alerts and credit freezes to protect your credit

When a fraud alert is placed, businesses seeking your credit report will contact you to confirm your identity before granting credit in your name. A credit freeze prevents scammers from using your credit report to open new accounts. However, keep in mind that when you need to apply for a new credit card or loan, you will be required to unfreeze your credit.

Even if you are not a victim of identity theft, fraud alerts and credit freezes are great ways to protect your identity. You must file for fraud alerts and credit freezes at EACH individual credit bureau, but thankfully, this process can be done entirely online:

• Experian
• Equifax
• TransUnion

3. Review your free credit reports to look for other cases of fraud & identity theft

To request your FREE annual credit reports:

1. Go to annualcreditreport.com
2. Tap Request your free credit reports.
3. Fill out the forms and confirm the process.

4. Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Report identity theft online to receive an official ID theft report. An ID theft report proves to businesses that someone stole your identity, which will help your case when disputing fraudulent charges. To make a report:

1. Go to identitytheft.gov
2. Tap Get Started.
3. Select an option and go through the process.