Identity theft: what to do

Have this ready

• FTC identity theft report
• credit report pages with the fraudulent items
• ID

Steps for any company

1. Place a fraud alert with one credit bureau (it tells the other two) or freeze your credit at all three bureaus.

2. Create an identity theft report and recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.

3. Dispute the fraudulent accounts with each bureau and with each company that opened them. Attach the FTC report.

A company playbook below replaces these generic steps with the company’s own forms, phone numbers and deadlines.

Company playbooks

No company has its own playbook for this issue yet. Use the steps above with the company’s contacts: find the company.

Guides

• Credit bureaus — how disputes and complaints work
• Banks and card issuers — how complaints work
• Credit unions — how complaints work
• Payment apps and money transfer services — how complaints work