No one likes to think about the possibility of identity theft, but it’s important to know the warning signs and what do to if your personal data is compromised. Unfortunately, identity theft is still on the rise in Ohio, so Ohio consumers should always be on the lookout for suspicious activity. If you ever do find that someone has stolen your identity, taking quick action may help to minimize the damage.
Signs that an Ohio Consumer has been the Victim of Identity Theft
It would be great if you could be alerted the second an identity thief takes your personal information. However, unless you actually see your purse or wallet being stolen, it’s unlikely that you’ll know exactly when your data has been compromised. Most of the time, hackers steal information via computers and from remote locations. They may not even be anywhere near Ohio when they break into your account(s). Because of this, you typically won’t know that your identity is being used fraudulently until at least one crime has been committed.
If you notice any of the following, you should consider yourself a possible victim of identity theft:
- Your checking account balance is lower than it should be, so you check your online statement and notice withdrawals that you know you didn’t make.
- Phone calls are received from debt collectors about accounts that you didn’t open.
- A medical bill arrives for services that you didn’t receive.
- A medical claim that you’ve filed with your insurance company is denied because your records indicate that you’ve reached your benefits limit, even though you know you’re not even close.
- You receive notification from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that more than one tax return was filed in your name.
- A strange account appears on one of your credit reports that you know you didn’t open.
- You receive a notice about a data breach from a company whose services you’ve used.
In order to be aware of any suspicious banking or credit activity, you should keep a close eye on your accounts and credit reports. Most Ohio consumers have online access to their credit card and bank accounts, so you can easily check these daily. It’s also important to take advantage of your right to request a free copy of your credit card from each of the major credit bureaus every twelve months.
All you have to do to claim your complimentary credit reports from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax is visit www.annualcreditreport.com and fill out a form. If you ever notice anything on your credit reports that shouldn’t be there, you should follow up. These strange items could be the result of identity theft, or they might be credit report errors. Either way, they need to be removed from your credit reports, and a FREE credit repair lawyer from Credit Repair Lawyers of America can help you with this process.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let identity theft or errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? The law allows us to collect our fees and costs from the defendants in any successful action. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (888)293-2882 or sending him a message through our contact page.
