Dear Jon – Let’s talk
about your identity. Cherami wrote to me and asks, “Dear Jon, what do we
do when no one will help my husband with his identity theft that he’s been
dealing with since 2005?” This is such a problem in society today and California is a hot bed for ID
theft. And yes, it can take years to solve you’re issues. I found some help for you.
First of all, it should
be said that no one can take charge of your identity like you, no attorney, no
one. That said, I did some research and found a booklet online from the Federal
Trade Commission. This is the federal agency that is designed by our government
to protect consumers. In order to find this booklet, all I did was a Google
search with the question “What do I do about identity theft?”
If you briefly look at its
contents you’ll find there are some immediate steps you need to take when you
feel your identity is stolen. First, place a fraud alert with your credit
bureaus. Then order your credit reports and create an identity theft report
with local law enforcement. Then there are some practical suggestions on who to
contact.
After this review your
credit report and dispute errors with credit reporting companies. The booklet
goes into how to get copies of documents the identity thief used. It’s a very
comprehensive 43 page online manual to help you take charge of your identity.
But remember, you have
to take charge! No one will do this for you! Yes, it’s a pain and identity
theft can keep you from enjoying your life. But as you take these steps,
monitor your progress and create a system to organize your papers and track
deadlines and phone calls you’ve made. Hopefully in time you can return to some
semblance of normalcy.
If you have a question for me just look for the Dear Jon
tab on our website, you can email me there or on Facebook @Jon K Brent KIONKCOY
or Twitter @DearJonKBrent.