The first thing you will want to do is to contact your local law enforcement. Do this as soon as possible to ensure that the thief is caught before they can do too much damage. The reason that this is so important is that the police will be the ones to write a special report to document the issue. If there are any questions in the future you will want to have this paper to show to credit and other companies to prove you are telling them the truth.

If you did not have credit protection, you will want to contact your credit card companies to let them know what happened. They will cancel the credit cards that were stolen and issue you new ones. Even if you just had your number stolen and not the actual card, this is very important.

It cannot be said enough times that you need to check all of your statements from banks as well as from credit cards companies all the way down to your phone bill. If your name is being used for one kind of fraud that you know of, it is likely being used for another as well. Checking statements and your credit report are necessary in recovering from past fraud as well as preventing a new incident from occurring.

Another agency that you will want to inform is the Federal Trade Commission. What they will do is inform other government agencies about what has happened. This is an essential step and means that you will not have to spend the time to report your incident to every agency that will be affected. Another great thing about contacting the FTC is that they will be able to provide you with plenty of resources to help you get your life back to normal.

There are a number of US government websites related to the subject of identity theft fraud resources, that’ll help you protect yourself from this evil crime. In this article, we’ll go over a few of them and check out brief descriptions on each site.

The very first website you should think of when it comes to identity theft fraud resources, is the FTC’s site. The FTC is one of the most important government departments you may need to get in touch with, in case you’re the victim of an identity theft attack.

The Federal Trade Commission offers a variety of identity theft fraud resources such as their ‘Detect and Defend’ brochure, which by the way, comes in a PDF format. You’ll also find plenty of useful links to many other identity theft resources.

Another great website is the IRS site which contains content on the same topic, including links to plenty of additional resources. Some of the information covered, include how your tax records are affected, what you should do if you feel you’re a victim of an identity theft scam, and what you can do to protect yourself from one.

The third major identity theft fraud resource is the US Department of Justice website. This site too has information plus links to a variety of identity theft resources. For instance, you’ll find content on what it is, what steps you need to take to prevent it from happening to you, and what the department is doing about it. There’s also a special section dedicated to what an identity theft victim needs to do. And, in this section, you’ll come across a lengthy collection of links and the contact details of many many resources that cover the same topic.

A large number of state specific government sites also contain identity theft fraud resources. Additionally, you could use the search engines to search for websites that cater to your state.

In conclusion, you’ll find some great links to identity theft resources on a host of government websites. You just need to set aside some time to explore the sites. Of course, the most important and the most quoted of these, is the website of the Federal Trade Commission.

And, for your convenience, here are the contact details of some popular identity theft fraud resources that might come in handy.

By some means someone else has found out your Social Security Number, Driver’s License Number or other crucial information and suddenly they claim to be you.

You are not alone.  Each year over 7 million people became victims of ID theft.  That breaks down to just over 13 people per minute.  Your new identical twin with the identical name is going crazy opening new charge cards and opening credit lines at banks of which you have never even heard.

Here are three steps that may help to stop what is happening.

• Order a credit report.  You are entitled to a report once a year anyway and should be checking it at least that often.  If you believe that your ID was stolen then you are entitled to another report.  Without this report, you will not know the extent of damage that has been done.  Read it carefully looking for any discrepancies.  If there are accounts not recognized, addresses that are not valid or inquires for credit that were not initiated by you, you have a problem.
• If you discover a problem, immediately initiate a fraud alert with the credit bureaus.  This adds an extra step of phone verification to your phone number in order to open new accounts, but also will cause a call to come to your phone if anyone else makes an attempt.

• Contact all creditors including those who have opened accounts that are fraudulent.  Dispute any fraudulent charges.  You have sixty days in which to do this.  If you wait any longer, you can be liable for the charges, even if they are fraudulent.

Some of the companies may require a police report be filed.  This is a good idea, as it can also be very useful later if you have to go to court.

Unfortunately, it will take time to repair this damage.  Many victims will spend several months in the process.  On the average this may cost you $1,400 cash and about 600 hours of your time to clean up this mess.

Federal law provides a mandatory prison sentence of 2 years on those who are convicted of stealing your identity.  If they use that identity for terrorist acts, they will have minimum 5-year prison sentence.

If you have any indication that you identity has been stolen, act quickly.  The reputation you save may be your own.

Despite the fact that identity thieves have increased in number, these thieves are a package of such devilish brains that in just a time lapse of 10 minutes then can degrade your account to zero, after they gain the required credit card details. If you are not alert and safeguarded, then it will not be late before you find yourself mounted with debt.

Victims of identity theft are left with one question- Can we really stop identity theft? Yes, you can before being the next victim. Take a glance at the following easy tips for covering a protective net around you from identity theft.

Don’t Put Faith Too Easily
Don’t trust any single person with your credit and always keep it under your sight. Bear in mind, that the advanced technology has made it achievable for credit card readers to gain all your credit card related information with just one swipe.

Perish Receipts Totally
It is compulsory to destroy all your receipts or be smarter to emit certain prominent figures or some other account info. If you don’t do the hassle of perishing your receipts, you will just make it an easier task for the identity thieves to get hold over all your personal information.

Wide Eyes Glued To Your Account
Large number of thieves has applied logic that enormous transactions under your account will make the fraud instantly conspicuous to the actual account holder. Therefore, the identity thieves now apply the procedure of miniature withdrawals using your account, like once or thrice a month, expecting that this will go unobserved. It is a simple exercise, to keep track with account transaction, even the minimal withdrawal. So the tip is to save some time at the end day for checking the list.

Keep All Credit Card Related Information Stored
A professional thief will not need a great deal of time to gain entrance to your personal account. Thus by having, a back up of all credit cards related information you can report a “lost card” promptly.

Be Cautious While Browsing The Internet
This deserves to be the first tip on identity theft protection, as unsafe internet browsing has mostly added to the entire problem. Internet opens gateway to many advantages, but remember it also makes it convenient for thieves to carry credit fraud. You need to ensure that they are unable to track you down when you are surfing, by installing anti-virus software.

Be Secured With Your Computer
Most importantly if the use of your computer is relating to business then use some other computer for surfing random websites. And bear in mind not to install unnecessary software, unless it is prominent and safe.

Identity Theft Protection Services
You may also want to consider enrolling with one of the identity theft protection companies available for consumers such as LifeLock, TrustedID or IdentityTruth.  They should be able to protect your identity from thieves for minimal monthly or yearly fees.

It may seem that identity theft is to survive with rapid increase in number, but the fact is if you take an initiative today, then you can be sound safe from identity theft tomorrow.

Do not fall for fake providers
The number of identity theft victims and awareness is increasing, and together with that, more and more organizations are propping up to protect consumers from severe identity theft. There are countless firms claiming 24/7 services, and advance notifications. There are loads of firms who are just new in the field, so they will not give you desired satisfaction because of their lack of experience. Following this, one can also be trapped between fake online service providers, where one can easily be scammed after depositing their first subscription. It is a tough job to locate a legitimate service provider through internet.

Keep your credit safe
However, when it is about your credit and finance related issue this cannot be put at stake, as this means the world to you. TrustedID is one of the top rated companies that give protection from identity theft and they are in the field with experience. Unlike other service providing companies, TrustedID is involved taking a brisk approach while they deal with any fresh accounts under their client’s identity. They do not put in any simple monitoring, but the client’s account is kept in “frozen” status until the client himself verifies that the new transaction is appropriate.

Advanced warnings
TrustedID also gives you access to a beneficial credit analyzer that permits you to view your credit card transactions or any new loan that had been opened. The credit analyzer is also intertwined with Doublecheck, an automated tool that sends fraud warnings to your virtual account. This has proven to be a great benefit as these advance warnings reduces the probability of being the victim of identity theft.

Medical records protected too
TrustedID is loaded with advantageous services for its valuable clients, as your authorization will also protect your medical records. This is carried to make sure that their clients do not become the victim of medical identity theft as well. There are many frauds, holding the potential to use your medical insurance and medical services for free under your identity, which will be added to your insurance payment.

Lost wallet protection
Furthermore, there is a lost wallet protection service that is newly included to their services, which terminates your lost credit card and permits up to $2000 cash if your require. Another recently included service is the monitoring of extremely top-rated black markets in internets, so that trade of your identity is detected, to confirm that none of your personal info is being sold to identity thieves.

Low monthly cost
TrustedID charges merely $8.25 monthly or $99 yearly to the clients, which is low to gain enhanced protection from identity theft.

So, if you are determined to get linked with the great services of TrustedID, then don’t put back yourself as this fully safeguards you from identity theft.

Click here to go to TrustedID.com