Questions and Answers

Dealing with Credit Accounts

How to report a tampered credit account

Here are some important tips on How to report a tampered credit account, for shoppers and merchants.

What do I do if someone has tampered with my existing accounts?

• Contact the fraud department of the company where your account has been tampered with.
  
• Close the account and open a new one. Get a new personal identification number (PIN) or password when you open the new account. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
  
• Dispute in writing any charges run up by the identity thief on those accounts. Insist on havingdebits reinstated. Ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms. If the company doesn't have special forms, you can use this sample letter. See What should I do about unauthorized charges on my credit cards? and How do I get back money that was stolen from my debit card account or through other electronic fund transfers?

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Source: FTC

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

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