Whether your personal information was stolen or not, there are important steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft. Be sure to read or listen to my previous post, Equifax Data Breach: 5 Steps to Protect Your Personal Finances.
Since the breach, I’ve received a steady stream of questions from Money Girl readers and podcast listeners about protecting their finances. In this article, I’ll review eight major warning signs of identity theft and how to fight back if you do become a victim.
Plus, I'll answer a variety of questions about topics including protecting your kids’ credit, signing up for credit monitoring, and where to place security alerts on your credit files.
8 Warning Signs of Identity Theft
- Incorrect information on your credit reports.
- Charges on your credit cards that you didn't make.
- Charges or withdrawals from a financial instituation that you didn't make.
- Calls from collectors about debts that aren't yours.
- Calls from collectors about medical bills that aren't yours.
- Missing bills and statements from your snail mail.
- Notice about maxed out government benefits.
- Your income tax refund never arrives.
Here are details about each of these warning signs with tips to fight back.
1. Incorrect information on your credit reports.
Reviewing your credit reports on a regular basis is one of the best ways to nip fraud in the bud. It isn’t foolproof, because there are types of identity theft that don’t involve your credit, which I’ll cover in a moment.
However, if you see any incorrect information, such as a wrong address, accounts you didn’t open, inquiries from companies you don’t recognize, or incorrect balances on accounts, they are strong signs that your accounts or identity has been hijacked.
Fight back: Dispute the errors with each of the three nationwide credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Also contact creditors that have incorrect information about you to dispute it.
2. Charges on your credit cards that you didn’t make.
Even a small credit card charge that isn’t yours means that a fraudster is using your card number. They often make one or more small charges to test whether you notice before they rack up more expensive purchases.
Fight back: Contact your card issuer right away and report any unauthorized charges so they can discontinue the old card number and give you a new one. This doesn’t close your account or make you lose any payment history. They simply change the number and send you a new card in the mail.
Fortunately, the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) says that you’re responsible for no more than $50 of fraudulent charges on a credit card. And if you report a lost or stolen card before unauthorized charges are made, you don’t owe anything. After speaking with your card issuer check your credit reports to make sure there aren’t new accounts that you don’t recognize.
3. Charges or withdrawals from a financial institution that you didn’t make.
Any transactions you don’t recognize on your checking, savings, or investing accounts means someone has access and could drain them by making purchases, withdrawals, or cashing out investments.
Fight back: Contact your financial institution to report the unauthorized use and change your account passwords. They may freeze your accounts while they make an investigation. Also check your credit reports for any other suspicious activity.
4. Calls from collectors about debts that aren’t yours.
Past due amounts in your name means a criminal has used your information to borrow money—such as getting a mortgage, car loan, personal loan, or credit card—and then not paid it back.
Fight back: Get all the information you can from the collector, such as his or her name, the company name and address, and a phone number. Request a validation notice that outlines the details about the debt in question.
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act you’re entitled to receive a validation notice within five days of being contacted by a collector, which lists the debt details, including how to dispute it. You can also send a debt verification request to a debt collector within 30 days of initial contact. Then check your credit reports.
5. Calls from collectors about medical bills that aren’t yours.
Medical fraud happens when someone you don’t know uses your identity or insurance to get services or products from doctors, dentists, or hospitals. Getting calls from collectors or receiving medical bills that you don’t recognize means a criminal got services and is trying to stick you with the bill.
Fight back: Contact each company or provider who billed you and explain the situation. Ask to see your medical records and make sure any fraudulent diagnosis or treatment is removed. Report medical fraud to the FTC.
6. Missing bills and financial statements from your snail mail.
If you typically get bills and bank statements in the U.S. mail, but stop receiving them unexpectedly, that could be a sign that a criminal has hijacked your mailing address. If they redirect your mail or steal it from your mailbox, it’s less likely that you’ll notice the fraud they’re trying to get away with.
Fight back: Contact the post office and any billers that have gone missing to report the fraud. Then check your credit reports.
7. Notice about maxed out government benefits.
A thief could use your identity to apply for various government assistance programs, such as food assistance, unemployment, disability, or Social Security benefits. Your child’s identity could also be used to qualify for free meals at a public school, claim Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, or to get medical services.
This fraud could happen even if you don’t receive any government benefits. And if you do need them in the future, you could be denied because records would mistakenly show that you’re already claiming them.
Fight back: Report the fraud to the appropriate government agency, notify the policy, and file an identity theft report with the FTC. Then check your credit reports.
8. Your income tax refund never arrives.
Tax return fraud is a growing problem that happens when a thief files a fake return in your name to steal a refund you may be owed. After you file your return, you could receive notification from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that more than one return was submitted in your name.
Fight back: Contact the IRS, notify the police, file an identity theft report with the FTC, and check your reports. You still need to file your state and federal tax returns and pay any amounts owed even if your identity was stolen.
If you suspect that your personal information is in jeopardy or know you’re an identity theft victim, you should place a fraud alert or a credit freeze on your credit files to prevent further exposure.
Free Resource: Credit Score Survival Kit – download this ebook and video tutorial with proven, legitimate tips and strategies to review, repair, and build excellent credit.
How to Prevent Child Identity Theft
I also received several questions about how to keep kids safe. Did you know that children are over 50 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than adults? Unfortunately, it can be easy for a dishonest family member or friend with access to their personal records to steal their information.
Most parents are clueless that their child is a victim until he or she tries to get a driver’s license, mobile phone, or gets turned down for a student loan or job.
Most parents are clueless that their child is a victim until he or she tries to get a driver’s license, mobile phone, or gets turned down for a student loan or job. By then, it’s difficult to clear up problems, like a botched credit report, debt, or even a criminal record that’s existed for many years in your child’s name.
Question: Amy S. says, “Thanks for your timely and thorough podcast on the Equifax breach. Do you recommend the same steps for checking credit reports on our teenage children even if they don’t have loans or credit histories?”
Answer: Thanks for asking, Amy. Yes, you absolutely need to get in the habit of checking your kids’ credit files when you check your own at sites like annualcreditreport.com, Credit Karma, and Credit Sesame.
The credit bureaus require you to verify that you’re a child’s parent or legal guardian by providing proof of your address and copies of your identification, your child’s birth certificate, and your child’s Social Security card.
If you have an older child who’s been set up as an authorized user on a credit card or has their own car or student loan, then he or she would have a credit file. But if your young child has a credit report, he or she is likely an identity theft victim. Having a credit file means a thief used their information to open credit accounts.
If your child is an identity theft victim, place a fraud alert or a security freeze on his or her file. Then notify the police and file a report with the FTC.
See also: Identity Theft and Your Wallet—7 Items to Purge Now
Question: Travis H. says, “We’re a military family and relocate a lot. To my surprise, when my son was only three years old, we started receiving snail mail in his name from advertisers. He’s almost five now and the Equifax situation has renewed my fear for his future. How do I protect my son’s identity from theft?”
Answer: Thanks for your question, Travis. If you haven’t already checked to see if your son has fraudulent credit reports, I’d do that immediately.
Just like you can’t protect yourself from every type of potential identity theft, you can’t completely protect your child identity from theft. However, here are five tips to help keep children safe from identity theives:
- Watch out for mail addressed to your child. Receiving any type of mail, but especially preapproved credit card or insurance offers, in your child’s name is a red flag that credit accounts could have been opened using their personal information.
- Watch out for debt collectors asking for your child. If a thief opened a credit card or took out a loan in your child’s name, they certainly didn’t pay the bill. So collectors are likely to track you down by mail or phone.
- Never give out your child’s Social Security number. While many organizations ask for a child’s Social Security number, few really need it. Push back and find out whether it’s necessary and how the number will be used and protected.
- Lock up your child’s identity documents. Documents with personal data, such as birth certificates, passports, Social Security cards, and wills should be kept in a bank safe deposit box or a locked, fire-proof safe.
- Teach children to keep their personal information secret. As kids get older, they need to know that their name, address, phone numbers, email, passwords, and Social Security number should never be shared.
See also: Best Tips to Improve Your Credit Score
More Tips to Stay Safe After the Equifax Data Breach
Here are a few more questions I received that may help you stay safe in the wake of the Equifax data breach.
Question: J. Johnson says, “Today I’m placing fraud alerts on my credit files. Consumer Reports says we should also contact a company called Innovis. Is that an action you also recommend?”
Answer: Thanks, J. I do think it’s worthwhile. Most people have heard of the three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Innovis is a fourth, minor agency that’s been around since the 1970s. Through multiple acquisitions, it’s had a variety of names including ACB (Associated Credit Bureaus) Services, Consumers Credit Associates (CCA), and CBC Companies.
You can check your Innovis report and place an alert or freeze at innovis.com. Just like with the three major bureaus, you can get a free copy of your credit file from Innovis once a year—but they’re not on the official reporting site, annualcreditreport.com.
Innovis doesn’t give you an option to view your report online (like you can with the other agencies). You must submit a request to have a paper copy mailed to you.
See also: 6 Risky Situations When You Should Avoid Using a Debit Card
Question: Justin asks, “Should I sign up for Equifax’s free credit monitoring?”
Answer: Equifax is offering TrustedID Premier, a free credit file monitoring and identity theft protection to all U.S. consumers regardless of whether their data was stolen. It includes 3-bureau monitoring, copies of Equifax credit reports, the ability to lock and unlock Equifax reports, identity theft insurance, and Internet scanning for Social Security number.
I did sign up for Equifax’s service; however, it’s far from foolproof. If you enroll, please don’t become complacent about watching out for the warning signs I’ve covered here, or anything else that seems suspicious.
As I mentioned in my previous post, credit monitoring services offer a thin line of defense against a small percentage of possible identity crimes.
Question: Lyndi says, “Thanks for your Equifax podcast. I shared it with all my friends who were confused about what to do. Recently I got married and legally changed my name with the Social Security Administration and the state. I checked both on Equifax’s security website, which says my maiden name was potentially impacted and my married name was not. Should I worry about this?”
Answer: Congratulations on your recent wedding, Lyndi! Since your credit is linked to your Social Security number, you should only have one file at each of the credit bureaus, even after a name change.
So, I would assume that your data has been compromised and stay alert for any red flags that I covered here and in my previous post.
See also: When to Monitor, Freeze, or Put an Alert on Your Credit
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