Author Wade Robins
Credit card identity theft where your credit card is stolen,
your PIN is stolen or someone opens another credit card in your
name, can all be particularly damaging to your credit score.
Unfortunately a credit score isn't so easily restored but there
are a couple of things you can do to make the best of the
situation and restore it as much as possible. In this article we
will look at what you should do before and after credit card
identity theft in order to best protect and restore your credit
score.
The first thing you should do whenever you receive a new credit
card is to make photocopies of both sides of the card and file
these away in a safe place. This way if your credit card goes
missing or you believe it may have been compromised you can
immediately put a stop to it.
Regularly request credit reports on your name. These credit
reports will show you whether any other credit cards have been
opened in your name that you do not know about. The sooner you
find out that a card has been opened in your name that is
incorrect the sooner you will be able to put a stop to it and
prevent any damage from occurring.
Only carry around with you those credit cards that you are
going to be using and try to keep a minimum of credit cards.
If you discover that your credit card has gone missing or if
there is any chance that your credit card information may have
been compromised and used in credit card identity theft then the
first thing you should do is to stop the relevant card or cards.
Phone the card issuer and let them know that you believe you may
have been a victim of credit card identity theft and if they
could immediately put a stop to all purchases on the card.
You should also contact one of the credit card bureaus if you
believe you have been a victim of credit card identity theft and
report the matter to them. They can then put a fraud alert on
your credit report which will make it more difficult for anyone
to open another account in your name.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and with the
local police station where the ID theft took place and give them
a copy of your form from the FTC. For more info see
http://www.preventi dentitythefthelp .com/Identity_ Theft_Protection
on identity theft protection.
By following these preventative measures and taking action if
you believe you have been a victim of credit card identity theft
you will be in a much better place to restore your credit score
if anything does happen and will hopefully be able to prevent
too much damage taking place from the start.
About The Author: You can also find more info on
http://www.preventidentitythefthelp .com on identity theft and
http://www.preventi dentitythefthelp .com/Identity_ Theft_Lawyers
on identity theft http://lawyer. Preventidentityt hefthelp. com is
a comprehensive resource to find how to secure your ID.
This article was provided by isnare. www.isnare.com
