Action: More facts on identity theft

As part of our continuing series "Consumer Confidential: The Privacy Story," the theme of the fourth annual National Consumer Protection Week, Tuesday's column dealt with the four main steps to take if you believe you have become the victim of identity theft. The Federal Trade commission and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service also recommend taking the following additional steps:

Call the Social Security Administration's fraud hotline toll-free at 1-800-269-0271. Also call toll-free 1-800-772-1213 and request a copy of your Social Security statement to verify the accuracy of your reported earnings. Follow up in writing.

Contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service office, particularly if an identity thief has stolen your mail to get new credit cards, bank and credit card statements, prescreened credit offers or tax information, or falsified change-of-address forms. The closest one is in Tampa at (813) 281-5200. Complaints may also be filed at the Web site www.usps.gov/postalinspectors.

Notify each of your credit card issuers that you have been the victim of identity theft and ask each one to close your existing account and open a new one with a new account number. Ask that any requests regarding your card, such as changing the address, be honored only with your written authorization.

Notify the card issuer or creditor of any account opened without your authorization or knowledge that you are the victim of identity theft. Ask that the account be closed immediately. A signed affidavit or police report may be required from you.

Close any bank accounts that you believe or know have been tampered with. When opening new accounts, ask for password-only access to minimize exposure to theft.

If your ATM card has been stolen or tampered with, cancel the card as soon as possible and get a new one with a new personal identification number (PIN).

If your checks have been stolen or misused, stop payment. The following major check verification companies can provide help in tracking stolen or misused checks: SCAN, toll-free 1-800-262-7771; TeleCheck, toll-free 1-800-710-9898 or 1-800-927-0188; CrossCheck, (707) 586-0431; Equifax Check Systems, toll-free 1-800-437-5120; International Check Services, 1-800-526-5380.

If you suspect an identity thief has tampered with your securities investments or brokerage account, report it to your broker or account manager and the Securities and Exchange Commission at SEC Office of Investor Education and Assistance, 450 Fifth St. NW, Washington, DC 20549-0213, (202) 942-7040, Web site www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml.

Contact your Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' Division of Drivers Licenses to see if another license was issued in your name. If so, request a new number and fill out the DMV's complaint form, which will initiate fraud investigation.

If a new phone service has been established in your name, if unauthorized charges are being billed to your cellular phone, or if someone is using your calling card and PIN, cancel those accounts immediately and open new ones with new PINs. If you have trouble getting the unauthorized charges removed, contact the Florida Public Service Commission toll-free at 1-800-342-3552 for local service providers, or the Federal Communications Commission toll-free at 1-888-225-5322 for long-distance and cellular providers.

If you think someone filed for bankruptcy under your name, write to the U.S. Trustee in the region where the bankruptcy was filed (check under bankruptcy administration in the U.S. government listings in your phone book or go to the Web site www.usdoj.gov/ust). Describe the situation and provide proof of your identity.

In the rare instance an identity thief gives your name when being arrested, thereby creating a criminal record in your name, seek the advice of an attorney. Procedures to clear your name can vary by jurisdiction.

Keep a detailed record of all your correspondence and phone calls, including time, date, name of person you spoke with, etc. Follow up phone conversations with a letter.

Detailed information on identity theft -- what it is, how it happens, what to do and a list of useful telephone numbers and addresses -- is available in the FTC brochure ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name. For a copy, call the FTC toll-free at 1-877-382-4357. The brochure may also be downloaded from the FTC's Web site, www.ftc.gov.

Sources: National Consumer Protection Week, www.consumer.gov/ncpw; Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov; U.S. Postal Inspection Service, www.usps.gov.

-- If you have a question for Action, or your attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write: Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, (800) 333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request for Action. Names will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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