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Emergency Mode

Someone is using your identity

Accounts are being opened in your name. File the official report first, because it is what obliges everyone else to act.

What this assumes

  • A computer is easier than a phone here, because of the forms and documents involved.
  • Normal internet access.

Do these first

Containment. Minutes matter here and nothing else does.

  1. File a report at IdentityTheft.gov. This produces an official Identity Theft Report and a personalised recovery plan. Official page
  2. Place a freeze at all three credit bureaus.
  3. Call the fraud department of each company where an account was opened.

Afterwards

When the immediate situation is over, a plan is what keeps it from happening the same way twice. That needs an account; this page never will.

Build a plan