What to do if you become a victim of “Phishing”?

February 09, 2023

Know what steps to take if you are a victim of “phishing” or any other form of identity theft:

  • File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
  • Contact the fraud departments of any of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or changing information on existing accounts. The credit bureau is required to notify the other two bureaus after confirming your fraud alert. You will then receive a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus. (See below for contact information for all three major credit bureaus.)
  • Contact your credit union or bank and notify all with whom you have a financial relationship.
  • Immediately close those accounts that you know or suspect have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
  • File your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigation. Further information regarding identity theft can be obtained from the FTC at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or 1-877-ID-THEFT.
  • Report the theft of your checks to check verification companies.
  • Check the post office for unauthorized change of address requests on your behalf.
  • Follow-up all telephone calls with letters and keep a copy of all correspondence.

Important Contact Information:

Credit Reporting Bureaus

  • Equifax (www.equifax.com) 800-525-6285
  • Experian (www.experian.com) 888-397-3742, Option 3
  • TransUnion (www.transunion.com) 800-680-7289

Social Security Administration

  • Fraud Hotline 800-269-0271
  • Order Benefit/Earnings Statements 800-772-1213

Federal Trade Commission

  • Report ID Theft 877-ID-THEFT

Reporting Fraudulent Check Use

  • Global Payments (Check Rite) 800-766-2748
  • Chexsystems 800-428-9623
  • CrossCheck 800-843-0760
  • Certegy (formerly Equifax) 800-437-5120
  • SCAN 800-262-7771
  • TeleCheck 800-710-9898