Identity Theft: What to Do in the First 24 Hours
Someone opened accounts in your name. Here is the exact step-by-step checklist for the first 24 hours to limit the damage.
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Hour 1: Freeze Your Credit at All Three Bureaus
This is the most important step because it prevents the thief from opening new accounts in your name. Freeze your credit at all three bureaus immediately. Equifax: call 1-800-685-1111 or go to equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services. Experian: call 1-888-397-3742 or go to experian.com/freeze. TransUnion: call 1-800-680-7289 or go to transunion.com/credit-freeze. Each freeze takes about 10 minutes. A credit freeze is free and does not affect your credit score. You can temporarily lift the freeze when you need to apply for credit by using the PIN each bureau gives you.
Hour 2: File an FTC Identity Theft Report
Go to identitytheft.gov and file a report. This is the official federal resource for identity theft. The site generates a personalized recovery plan and creates an official Identity Theft Report that you need for disputing fraudulent accounts and charges. Print or save the report — you will reference it in every dispute. The FTC also sends the report to the relevant agencies and companies on your behalf.
Hours 3-4: Contact Your Banks and Credit Card Companies
Call every financial institution where you have accounts and tell them you are a victim of identity theft. Ask them to flag your accounts, close any accounts that were compromised, and issue new cards with new numbers. Request that they add verbal passwords or security questions for future phone transactions. Review recent transactions and dispute any you did not authorize. Under federal law, your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is limited to 50 dollars, and most banks waive even that.
Hours 5-8: Secure Your Online Accounts
Change passwords on all important accounts starting with email (your email is the master key because password resets go through it), then banking, then social media. Use unique, strong passwords for each account. Enable two-factor authentication on everything. Check for unauthorized email forwarding rules, connected apps, and recovery phone numbers or email addresses that the thief may have added. If your email was compromised, someone may be intercepting your password reset emails right now.
Within 24 Hours: File a Police Report
File a report with your local police department. While police may not investigate the crime, the report creates an official record that creditors and companies accept as proof of identity theft. Bring your FTC Identity Theft Report to the police station. Keep a copy of the police report for your records and reference it when disputing fraudulent accounts.
