How to Fix Credit Fraud

Your credit history and score are an essential part of your financial identity. They determine everything about your major financial decisions, including loan approval or denial and interest rates. If your score is unusually low, you could be a victim of identity theft, in which a criminal uses your personal information to make fraudulent accounts and transactions. But don't worry, you can fix credit fraud if it's happened to you.

Instructions

1

Call one of the major credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion or Experian) and put a fraud alert on your account if you suspect illegal activity. All bureaus will then flag your account for 90 days, and require all creditors, such as banks, retail stores and places where your social security number is needed, to contact you for direct authorization before any transaction is made.

2

Notify your banks and cancel all existing credit card accounts. While the fraud alert will help to stop illegal activity, the identity thief still has your account numbers.

3

File a criminal complaint with your local police department. The Federal Trade Commission provides an identity theft affidavit form on their website that you must fill out as well. These forms will help make the process quicker if filled out promptly.

4

Contest all suspicious and/or unauthorized activity on your account by filing a challenge with one or more of the credit bureaus. This may take up to one year to clear if approved.