WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I BECOME THE VICTIM OF FRAUD?
In the event you are a victim of fraud or burglary, there are a number of immediate steps you can take to help protect your personal and financial interests*:
- Immediately contact your bank(s) and credit card issuers so that the following can be done:
- Access to your accounts can be protected
- Stop payments placed on missing checks
- Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and Online Banking Passwords changed
- Open a new account(s) when appropriate
Be sure to indicate to the bank or issuer all the cards and/or accounts potentially impacted, including your ATM Card(s), Check Cards, and credit cards. Also, ask the agent to review all recent transactions on your accounts linked to those cards including checking, savings, money market, credit, home equity, etc. Additionally, ensure that no one has requested an address change, title change, PIN change, or ordered new cards or checks to be sent to another address. You can generally find Customer Service or Fraud Prevention contact telephone numbers and your account numbers on your monthly statements. Having this information handy will often facilitate your call.
- File a police report with your local police department and provide the facts and circumstances surrounding your loss. Obtain a police report number with the date, time, police department, location and police officer taking the report or involved in the subsequent investigation. Having a police report on file will often facilitate your dealings with insurance companies, banks, credit card agencies, and commercial establishments that may be the recipient of your stolen checks or fraudulent credit purchases. The police report may initiate a law enforcement investigation into the loss with the goal of identifying, arresting, and prosecuting the offender and possibly recovering your lost items. The police report will also help provide immediate clarification should someone assume your identity and be arrested for criminal activity using your name and biographical data.
- Maintain a written chronology of what happened, what was lost, and the steps you took to report the incident to the various agencies, banks, and firms impacted. Be sure to record the date, time, contact telephone number, person you talked to, and any relevant report or reference number and instructions. The Customer Activity Log in our Customer Fraud Assistance Information Package
can help you develop and maintain your records.
- Do a thorough review and inventory of bank activity and/or items that may have been stolen from you. If you later discover additional fraudulent items or missing articles, be sure to contact the respective police agency, bank, credit card issuer, or commercial establishment and update your initial report.
In addition to reporting your situation to your bank, credit card issuers, and local police department, remember to contact the following areas should these items be among your missing belongings:
- Department of Motor Vehicles for the replacement of your Driver's License and vehicle registration.
- Social Security Administration for the replacement of your Social Security card.
- Voter's registration office for the replacement of your voter's registration card.
- Local library to replace your library card.
- Various merchants who may have issued you a courtesy check cashing card.
- Various insurance companies for replacement of Medicare card, prescription card, proof of homeowners, auto, medical insurance, etc.
- Your local video rental ID card.
- Your employee ID card, security door access cards, special remote computer access passwords or tokens issued by your employer.
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