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Identity theft is when someone uses your personal or financial information without your permission. They might steal your name and address, credit card or bank account numbers, Social Security number, or medical insurance account numbers. They then use those details to apply for a loan, steal your tax refund, or even apply for a job.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers a number of resources on how to protect against or report and recover from identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov for more information, including checklists, sample letters, and personal recovery plans.
Recommended Steps by Compromise
Stolen Social Security Number
- Report the SSN theft at IdentityTheft.gov and file a local police report.
- Place a credit freeze for free at all major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis) to prevent malicious users from establishing new lines of credit with your identity.
- Go to http://www.irs.gov/uac/Identity-Protection for Identity Theft assistance from the IRS. You may also call 800-908-4490 and will likely be asked to complete and print Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14039.pdf and mail or fax to the appropriate office using the options listed on page 2 of the form. In addition, the IRS provides a transcript of your tax account transactions. You can get a transcript online or by mail to view your tax account transactions, line-by-line tax return information or wage and income reported to the IRS for a specific tax year. Go to http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript/ and follow the instructions to setup an account and review the transcript online, or to request a transcript by mail.
- Continue to monitor your existing lines of credit for signs of account fraud.
- Keep a record of and close any fraudulent account opened using your SSN immediately. Then report it to the fraud department of the credit card company or bank involved, as well as the major credit bureaus.
Note: Villanova University employees may enroll in the Identity Theft protection. This is a full service plan that will not only prevent but also handle all aspects of restoring and recovering the credit and identity of a victim of ID Theft. Employees receive a group discount and payments can be taken through payroll deductions. More information about this program and the cost for enrollment is available at Villanova University's Additional Benefits page.
Password or Account Login
- Change your password to something lengthy and unique. Consider using a password manager to create and securely store your passwords.
- Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) as another layer of protection to help confirm your identity and protect access to your accounts. Examples of MFA options include security keys, push notifications, biometrics, and authenticator apps.
- Look for unusual activity with your social media accounts and check your email filters for any changes to your account (such as emails being set to auto-forward). You can check if credentials involving your personal or work email address or phone is in a data breach by using Have I Been Pwned? Visit Pwned FAQ for more information.
- Make sure any other online accounts that use your hacked email address as the account’s registration address haven’t been impacted.
- Alert your contacts about the attack. Remind them to ignore suspicious emails and avoid clicking on links in emails.
- Review any specific guidance given by your email provider about restoring your account.
The Report Phish button makes it easy for you to report any suspicious emails sent to your inbox.
Fraud with Credit Cards
- Contact your credit card provider immediately to alert them to this credit card theft. In most cases, your provider will detect any fraud before you do and will reject the charges and send you a new card.
- Make sure to update any automatic payments connected with your old credit card.
- Consider receiving security credit fraud alerts that warn you when logins from unrecognized devices to your accounts occur, or if your password changes.
Hijacked/SIM Swapped Phone Number
- Contact your mobile carrier and financial institutions immediately to let them know that a porting attack has occurred.
- Help protect yourself from future attacks by requesting your carrier add additional security measures whenever a porting change has been requested. Many carriers will let you set a passcode for your account so that anyone who calls to make changes will have to provide the passcode.