🚨 How to Report Identity Theft
Identity theft recovery starts by stopping active misuse and documenting what happened. Contact affected financial institutions immediately, change compromised credentials from a safe device, and preserve notices, statements, and messages.
IdentityTheft.gov is the Federal Trade Commission's official reporting and recovery service. It creates an FTC Identity Theft Report, personalized plan, and prefilled letters for many situations.
Recovery steps depend on what was stolen. Tax, employment, medical, government-benefit, child, and criminal identity theft can each require specialized agencies.
📋 Documents you'll need
- List of fraudulent accounts, transactions, inquiries, or records
- Dates, amounts, account numbers, and company contacts
- Copies of bills, collection notices, credit reports, emails, or letters
- Government-issued ID and proof of address for disputes when required
- Police report number if a company or circumstance requires one
- A secure email address for the recovery account
🪜 Step-by-step
- Contact affected companies and financial institutions to block transactions and secure accounts.
- Change reused passwords and enable multi-factor authentication from a trusted device.
- Report the theft at IdentityTheft.gov and save the FTC report and recovery plan.
- Place free credit freezes with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
- Review all three credit reports for unauthorized accounts and inquiries.
- Send disputes and identity-theft blocking requests with copies of supporting records.
- Report specialized tax, benefits, medical, or criminal misuse to the responsible agency.
- Track every call, letter, deadline, confirmation, and outcome until records are corrected.
| Estimated cost | Free. IdentityTheft.gov, credit freezes, and disputes do not require a paid credit-repair company. |
|---|---|
| Typical timeline | Immediate account security can begin the same day. Credit, collection, tax, or government-record recovery may take weeks or months. |
Frequently asked questions
Do I always need a police report?
Not for every FTC recovery step, but a creditor or the type of theft may require one. Follow the personalized plan.
Is a fraud alert enough?
A freeze provides stronger control over access to new credit files. You may use both depending on the situation.
Should I pay a company to fix identity theft?
Official recovery resources are free. Be cautious of guarantees and upfront-fee recovery scams.