[tags]finance, identity theft, credit fraud[/tags]

Back in February of 2007 I had some mail stolen. The criminals had my SSN, a brand new Driver’s License, and a check for $496. Oh, and some blank checks from one of my pieces of plastic. The first thing to do was report the incident to the Sheriff. The next thing I did was call all of the “check cashing” places and asked them to keep a look-out. After that I called these people:

• Experian Fraud Services

• Transunion Fraud Alert

• Equifax Fraud Alert

When the fraud alert has been made, expect a call any time anyone tries to get a loan or credit with your name on it. I was quite surprised with the effectiveness of this.

Now then, after cleaning my firearms, I thought I should call the credit card people and then head down to the bank to change account numbers.

About a month later, I received a letter from Lakewood Police. They had recovered some mail with my name on it and had several criminals in custody. About a month after that, a letter from the Lakewood Police informed me they had someone in custody trying to pass fraudulent checks on my account. Hooray.

The truth is, there is not much you can do after the fact. I had the luxury of knowing exactly when I was victimized and I could take immediate action. So keep an eye on those statements and take a good look at the information contained on them.

What could a criminal do with this piece of information? In my case it was a court appearance.