Do I Have to File a Police Report When ID Theft Strikes?
Despite the thousands of identity thefts that occur every year, there is a surprising amount of people who choose to not file a police report. The choice to file a report is yours, but doing so may be of great help to law enforcement. Many identity thieves steal information from multiple people and may continue to do so until they are caught. By filing a report, the police may be able to find similarities in other identity thefts and use the information to help track down the criminal. If you lose money from the theft and police catch the person responsible, he or she may be forced to repay you as well. Reporting your identity theft will also help improve statistics regarding how often it actually occurs. How does this help you? Well if identity theft is reported correctly, statistics will probably show it happens even more than we suspect. The government and financial institutions certainly take notice of these statistics and will be forced to provide improved security to you, the consumer. So while it is definitely not required that you file a report after an identity theft, it could help law enforcement eventually catch the criminal responsible and help you get lost money back.
What Else Should I do after an Identity Theft?
After you know you’ve been the victim of identity theft, there are other steps you should take besides filing a police report. Immediately, you should contact all of your credit card companies and financial institutions. Alert them of the situation and ask that security locks be placed on your accounts, making it impossible for them to be used without your direct consent. This will stop any further damage if the criminal has your credit card or banking information. Many companies will also reimburse you for any losses you may incur from the identity theft if you inform them as soon as possible. If you suspect that some of your information may have been stolen online, you should also go about changing passwords and log-on information. With the help of an identity theft protection program, you can actually avoid most of these issues. In most cases, they’ll be able to prevent identity theft from stopping in the first place, however, they can also alert your credit card companies and place locks on your accounts should it ever occur. Many even offer to repay any money you lose as a result of identity theft. Of course, you should still file a police report even with identity theft protection.
