What to Do If Your Identity Is Stolen: The First 48 Hours

1. Preserve What You Found

Before deleting suspicious emails, clearing alerts, or closing browser windows, preserve the information that led you to suspect identity theft.

• • Screenshots
• • Emails and text messages
• • Account alerts and letters
• • Credit-report entries and transaction details
• • Dates and times
• • Names of companies involved
• • Account or reference numbers

You may need some of this information when communicating with financial institutions, credit bureaus, government agencies, or other organizations.

2. Identify What Appears to Be Compromised

Identity theft isn't one single event. Someone might have used an existing credit card, taken over an existing financial account, opened a new account in your name, used your Social Security number, used your personal information for tax fraud or medical services, or used your identity for another type of fraud.

Try to determine what you know happened separately from what you fear might have happened. That distinction will make the next steps easier.

3. Contact Institutions With Affected Accounts

If an existing bank, credit-card, loan, or other financial account appears compromised, contact the institution using a trusted phone number or website. Do not automatically trust contact information contained in an unexpected email, text message, or phone call claiming to help you with the fraud.

Tell the institution what you found and ask for its fraud or security department. Keep notes including the date and time, representative's name, what you reported, what you were told to do, any case or reference number, and the next follow-up date.

4. Consider Freezing Your Credit

A credit freeze — also called a security freeze — restricts access to your credit file and can make it much harder for someone to open new credit accounts in your name.

• • Is free to place and lift
• • Does not affect your credit score
• • Lasts until you lift it
• • Must be placed separately with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion if you want all three files frozen

A freeze can be particularly important when someone has your Social Security number or enough identifying information to attempt new-account fraud. But it does not by itself stop someone who already has access to one of your existing accounts. That's why contacting compromised institutions remains important.

Related: Should You Freeze Your Credit After Identity Theft?

5. Understand Fraud Alerts

A fraud alert works differently. Instead of blocking access to your credit report, an initial fraud alert tells businesses to take additional steps to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name.

• • Is free
• • Lasts one year and can be renewed
• • Requires contacting only one of the three nationwide credit bureaus; that bureau must notify the other two

People who have filed an identity theft report may qualify for an extended fraud alert. A credit freeze and fraud alert are not necessarily either/or choices: federal guidance says you can have both.

6. Go to IdentityTheft.gov

IdentityTheft.gov is the Federal Trade Commission's identity-theft reporting and recovery site. You tell the system what happened, and it creates an Identity Theft Report and recovery plan based on the information you provide.

If you create an account, the site can walk you through recovery steps, help track progress, update the plan, and provide forms and letters for certain situations. Recovery isn't identical for everybody, which is why this official path is useful.

7. Review Your Credit Information

Look for activity you don't recognize, such as accounts you didn't open, unfamiliar credit inquiries or addresses, balances or debts you don't recognize, and other inaccurate information.

If identity theft has caused fraudulent information to appear on a consumer report, federal law provides a process to request that qualifying fraudulent information be blocked. IdentityTheft.gov and the CFPB explain the documentation involved.