Identifying
If a creditor's fraud department, government agency or law enforcement agency referred you to the Fraud Victim Assistance Department (FVAD), you may already know that you are a fraud victim. As well, you may have experienced a loss of personal information due to a theft or break-in. If you know that you did not cause the problem, but credit is affected, you are the victim of a credit fraud crime and you need to take certain steps to protect your rights.
Be aware of these common warning signs of fraud:
- One of your creditors informs you that they have received an application for credit with your name and Social Insurance Number.
- You receive calls or letters stating that you have been approved or denied by a creditor to which you never applied.
- You receive credit card, utility or telephone statements in your name and address for which you never applied.
- You no longer receive your credit card statements, or you notice that not all of your mail is being delivered to you.
- Your credit card statement includes purchases that you don't recognize.
- A collection agency tells you they are collecting for a defaulted account established with your identity, but you never opened the account.
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NEXT STEPS:
- Do you think you may be a victim of identity theft?
Find out what you should do to begin restoring your credit history.
