 TITLE: How to Protect Your Identity After a Burglary CONTENT: What to Do if You Suspect Identity Theft\n----------------------------------------\nIn the event that you suspect that identity theft has already started, take immediate action:\n*   **Contact your credit card issuers.** If your credit cards were stolen or the account information compromised, call the issuers right away. They will suspend the accounts, make the cards and account numbers unusable, and send you new cards with different numbers. Be sure to update your recurring payments with the new card information as soon as possible to avoid missed payments.\n*   **Notify your banks.** Inform your financial institutions where you have savings, checking and investment accounts that you were burglarized. As with the credit card issuers, those banks will take measures to protect you against potential and current fraudulent activity.\n*   **File a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report.** To streamline the reporting and disputing process, the FTC has developed an easy, step-by-step guide to deal with the aftermath of having your identity stolen and used.\n*   **Dispute fraud-related information.** If you spot what you believe could be fraudulent information on your credit report, contact the company that is reporting it. After explaining that you've been a victim of identity theft and that you did not open the account or run up the balance, they may stop reporting the account to the credit bureaus. If they continue, provide them with a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report. The Fair Credit Billing Act made it so you are not responsible for fraudulent debts, so if it continues to appear, dispute it with one of the credit bureaus.\nFinally, prepare for the long haul. Because identity theft activity can pop up at any time, it can take months or even years before you are confident that you're in the clear. From this point forward, read all credit card and checking account statements carefully. Identity thieves may test out their ability to make purchases in someone else's name with small, hard-to-notice transactions. Check your credit report on a regular basis too. Consider using Experian's CreditWorks℠ Basic plan where you can view your report once a month, for free. This will empower you to stay on top of any unauthorized activity. END