Carson City, NV -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/25/2013 -- Over 10 million Americans, including a large percentage of children, are affected by the crime of personal identity theft each year. Most of them don’t know anything about how to fight identity theft, but Legal-yogi.com does, and is happy to spread its knowledge around, including:

- Put a Fraud Alert on Accounts
- ID Theft Affidavit
- Go to Police
- Prevent ID Theft

Fraud Alerts

This is the first step in reporting identity theft. Place fraud alerts on all of the affected accounts by contacting the major reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This will make it impossible for an ID thief to further use one’s credit accounts. A fraud alert can last up to 180 days, but it can be extended if necessary. Contact one of the Big Three immediately to stop any more damage to one’s credit score.

Fill Out an Identity Theft Affidavit

An Identity Theft Affidavit can be accessed through identity theft recovery services or through the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Credit card companies will request that one fill out such a report to document any fraudulent usage of one’s charge cards. There are two parts to it, personal information and account data. The former is so that credit card companies recognize that one is the person named on the cards; the latter is clarification of which accounts were affected. A notarized affidavit must be filed with all creditors – copied will not be accepted.

How To Report For Identity Theft Get Help here

Fill out a Police Report

The moment identity theft is noticed, go to the local police and fill out a theft report. Keep a copy of it along with names and contact numbers. While talking with the police, perhaps asking how to fight identity theft might be introduced. The police officers may be able to provide insight about steps to take to prevent this crime from happening to anyone else in one’s circle. Suggestions appear below.

Preventative Medicine

To avoid the need to know about reporting identity theft, take some steps to prevent it. First, carry a purse across the body so a thief cannot grab it easily. Men, if possible, place wallets inside a jacket or coat inside pocket, rather than in the rear pocket of jeans. This makes it more difficult to pickpocket the wallet. Never carry a Social Security number or card on one’s person; once a thief has that, he can destroy one’s credit in a number of ways. Be sure to cover a credit card number when making a purchase so no one can look over a shoulder to steal it.

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