
No one wants to become a victim of identity theft. But if it happens to you, be prepared to take action. In addition to following precautions to protect your identity, you need to know how to spot fraudulent activity and take action if you suspect your personal information has been compromised.
How to spot suspicious activity
Monitoring your accounts can help you spot and report potential issues right away. Early action may help minimize the effects of identity theft, like credit issues, legal problems, and financial losses. Be on the lookout for the following signs that your personal information may be compromised:
Unexpected charges show up on your account. Someone may have used your credit card information to make purchases you aren’t aware of. Keeping track of your spending helps you easily identify unfamiliar charges.
Unrecognizable accounts or inaccurate information appears on your credit report. Get in the habit of reviewing your credit report at least every year. There’s no excuse not to—federal law allows you to get a free copy every 12 months. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get started.
Bills or statements unexpectedly stop arriving by USPS. If bills you normally receive by mail stop coming, someone could have changed your billing address without your consent.
Cashed checks are significantly out of order on your bank statement. Use checks in order so that spotting an anomaly in the sequence is easy. That anomaly could mean someone has stolen your checks or ordered more without your permission.
Banks and financial institutions freeze accounts unexpectedly. If your bank or credit cards suddenly don’t work, someone could have maxed out your limit without your knowledge or your bank may have flagged your accounts due to suspicious activity.
You receive credit cards you haven’t applied for. You may receive “pre-approval” letters by mail as an advertising tactic, but if you receive cards you never applied for, it could mean someone has opened credit in your name without your consent.
You are denied credit you feel you should qualify for. Large purchases or rental agreements often require a credit check. If you receive a denial you aren’t prepared for, it could be a sign that someone else has been making bad decisions with your good credit.
You receive notification that you’ve been denied credit that you didn’t apply for. Someone may have used your information fraudulently to apply for credit.
Debt collectors contact you about merchandise you didn’t buy or unfamiliar bills. If you are being hounded by debt collectors about unfamiliar bills, don’t assume they have the wrong number. Someone could have used your information to rack up unpaid bills in your name.
You receive notifications about address, password, or information changes that you did not make. Pay attention to notices of changes to any of your personal information.
What to do if you suspect fraudulent activity
If for any reason you suspect that your personal information is at risk, take the applicable actions below.
Contact your financial institutions. Depending on their security practices, they may flag your accounts or temporarily suspend activity until the issue is resolved.
Contact the credit reporting agencies. Report any identity theft incidents as quickly as possible to one of the three major credit bureaus listed below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one—Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion—because the credit bureau you call is required to contact the other two.
When you place a fraud alert on your credit report, any new credit requests or changes to existing account information will be reviewed very carefully to verify the requestor is really you.
Report phishing emails. The Anti-Phishing Working Group is an industry and law-enforcement association working to eliminate Internet scams. The Group’s Web site, antiphishing.org, has a link to report phishing and includes other helpful information.
Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s identity theft web site. At the FTC’s site, you can customize your plan of action by answering a few questions about your experience. You also can stay up-to-date on major security breaches that could affect you and find out what your next steps should be.
Last Edited: January 23, 2018
Comment on this article
Comments
Keith J. on October 28, 2019 at 6:22pm
Keep my information safe please
Ally on October 28, 2019 at 6:40pm
Thanks for reading Keith. Keeping our customers’ accounts and personal information secure is a top priority for us.
Rick a. on October 29, 2019 at 2:04am
Thank you ally for educating me on phishing, the wide array of fraud, and dont forget identity theft , all bad. If eww come away with considerable more knowledge. Thx
Ally on October 29, 2019 at 2:10am
Our pleasure Rick. Thank you so much for reading.
Willie O. on October 29, 2019 at 1:35pm
Thank you for the offer
Ally on October 29, 2019 at 1:41pm
Thanks for reading Willie! Glad you enjoyed the article.
Mary H. on October 31, 2019 at 6:27pm
My other two banks I deal with ALWAYS use a second form of ID. Once I sign in they call me on my HOME telephone and give me a six number code to enter on the website. Unless someone is at home to answer the phone the bank will not let the user into the website. Sometimes annoying if I want to go online at work....but I appreciate the security and always wait until I get home to do my banking. I would like to have that additional layer for ALLY bank also. Why do you not offer that to your customers?
Ally on October 31, 2019 at 6:30pm
Hi Mary, if you’ll give our technical support team a call at 1-877-247-2559 they’ll be more than happy to assist you with two-factor authentication.
Brenda W. on November 4, 2019 at 6:43am
Thanks for the update on how to protect my account.
Ally on November 4, 2019 at 7:01am
Thanks for reading Brenda, we’re happy to hear you found the article helpful.
fatima B. on November 6, 2019 at 12:02pm
Thank you for sending this information.
Ally on November 6, 2019 at 3:20pm
Hi Fatima, thanks for reading!😊