ITRC Solution 30 – Clearing Financial Account Takeover

If you discover fraudulent account activity, on a billing statement or by a collection notice for purchases and/or services you did not receive, it is necessary to take the following steps:

• Stolen credit cards, checks, ATM or debit cards – Contact the financial institution immediately and close the affected accounts. Put passwords on the new accounts. If you never made a copy of the card, you should be able to find a 24/7 phone number on the back of a billing or bank account statement.
  
• Account Takeover – If a bank, credit card or debit account has been taken over by another person (charges you didn’t make appear on your monthly statements), close the account and open a new one. In most cases you need to notify the company (bank or credit card issuer) within 30 days, so act quickly.

NOTE: It is vital to check statements monthly as few financial institutions allow a “grace” period longer than the contractual agreement (on the back of your monthly statement). Add a password for protection. If checks are involved see ITRC Fact Sheet 126 – Checking Account Takeover and Check Fraud for details. A password on the account will may help to deter a thief from changing the billing address or adding a name to the account.

• Use ITRC Letter Form 100-4 to assist you in clearing up this fraudulent activity. ITRC Fact Sheet 100 will also provide valuable information on organizing your case, helping you understand with whom you need to speak (the players), and how to follow through with documenting this situation.

Copyright 2009, Identity Theft Resource Center ®, Created by the ITRC staff