When reviewing your credit report, discovering accounts you never opened can be anxiety-inducing, especially when it impacts your credit score. As such, you may feel like you’ll never recover from identity theft. However, there are steps you can take to remedy the situation. If you’re the victim of a stolen identity, you’ll want to keep reading to learn how to regain control. You’ll also discover how a Los Angeles, California identity theft lawyer can help you navigate this challenging time.
What Can I Do to Recover From Identity Theft?
Once you discover your identity has been compromised, you must immediately contact the three major credit unions to place a fraud alert on your account. As such, you will be notified via phone by lenders before they are allowed to open accounts in your name. This ensures you can verify whether or not you tried to open the account.
Next, you’ll need to contact any of the companies involved. This includes creditors you have accounts open with and creditors who opened accounts for the thief. You must dispute the accounts opened without your permission so the creditor can close them. Similarly, if your credit card was used, you must dispute the charges and request a new card from your provider.
Finally, you must remedy your credit. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, it is your right as a consumer to dispute fraudulent charges, including those that appear on your credit score due to identity theft. Generally, the easiest way to do this is to create a report of your stolen identity to include with your credit dispute to help speed up the process. You’ll mail the dispute to the reporting bureaus, where they will investigate. They should block the accounts and remove them from your accounts to repair your credit.
How Can an Attorney Help Me?
If you notice that you’re identity has been stolen, it’s in your best interest to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. When you file a dispute with the creditors and reporting agency, they may not respond or refuse to remedy the situation. As your credit score plays a significant role in your life, such as deciding where you live, what loans you can receive, and if you can obtain certain job opportunities, ensuring your credit is good is vital.
At LA Legal Solutions, our dedicated team will work tirelessly to help you navigate this complex situation. We understand how devastating it can be to discover that your identity was stolen, so we will do everything possible to hold creditors responsible when they fail to fix the issues. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you through this process.
