Why You Should File An Id Theft Report

If you have been a victim of identity theft, you already know that it can be a nightmare. One way to stop that nightmare in its tracks is to file an ID theft report. This is a special report of the crime, which can help you, police and those you do business with, such as credit card companies, to sort out the mess and catch the thief who stole your identity.

There are several differences between an ID theft report and a simple police report. The biggest difference, as far as law enforcement goes, is that the police report won't be as detailed as an ID theft report could and should be.

When you file with a local, state or federal agency, it is very important that your report be as detailed as it possibly can be. You should record the days that the fraudulent activity occurred, the amounts of any fraudulent transactions and any other relevant information, such as account numbers.

What you need to understand is that an identity thief can completely compromise your credit report and they will not care because you will suffer for it, not them.

In order to straighten out that mess, you will be required to jump through all sorts of hoops. Included in that mess is filing an ID theft report, which major companies like Equifax, Transunion and Experian can use to adjust your credit report and block faulty transactions from appearing on your permanent record.

In addition to that, your ID theft report can help those credit reporting companies to flag your account with an extended fraud alert, so that any future fraud will be caught sooner, hopefully. If you have such a report on file, you will also be exempt from debt collection agencies who are trying to collect on debts that you didn't create.

When making your ID theft report, be very persistent. Agencies are not required to take a detailed report of identity theft. In some cases, you have to create the report with a law enforcement agency by special request. Explain to the agency that you need the report in order to protect yourself from further identity theft crimes.

Finally, be sure to send copies of your ID theft report to any credit agencies or businesses that were involved. Make sure that you are diligent about sending those companies the information that they need in a timely fashion. Most agencies have time limits for reporting such identity theft crimes.

By: Neil Carson

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