Combating Identity Theft: Spotting Identify Theft When It Happens

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If your identity is stolen, you may not receive any obvious indication that you've been victimized "no broken window or missing masterpiece serves as a clue. The evidence, unfortunately, may not make itself known until your credit has been sorely compromised and you're fighting on multiple fronts to restore your good name.

That said, by being vigilant, you can spot signs of identity theft. This crime is one that you'll probably be the first to notice, and vigilance on your part can make all the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major identity crime. The following sections identify some key signs to watch out for.

Instituting an early-warning alert

The FACT Act requires that creditors give you what may be called an early-warning notice. This notice can serve as your first sign that something is amiss with an account and give you the opportunity to halt devastating abuse of your credit in its early stages.

Anyone who extends credit to you must send you a one-time notice no later than 30 days after negative information " including late payments, missed payments, partial payments, or any other form of default " is furnished to a credit bureau. This stipulation also applies to collection agencies, as long as they report to a credit bureau. The FACT Act doesn't dictate how big of a notice you get. You may have to look closely to even see it, so be sure you do your part by closely monitoring your credit reports, bank accounts, and credit card statements.

This notice means something bad is in your account history, and if it's reported to the credit bureau, it will be negative. Whether it's reported or not, it's lurking out there. Before negative information is reported, the early-warning notice may look something like this:

We may report information about your account to credit bureaus. Late payments, missed payments, or other defaults on your account may be reflected in your credit report.

After negative information has been reported, the early-warning notice may look like this:

We have told a credit bureau about a late payment, missed payment, or other default on your account. This information may be reflected in your credit report.