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Report Identity Theft: Alert Concerned Agencies to Apprehend the Culprits
By Bill Southgate

Being a victim of identity theft can be an emotionally draining as well as confusing event which becomes worse if one is unaware of the procedures to follow for taking remedial action. It may often require reporting identity theft to a number of agencies that include local, state as well as federal agencies, all of whom may be involved in investigating the particular instance of identity theft. It is vitally important to understand as well as know whom to call so that one can act quickly so as to significantly impact the future course of investigating the crime. Before one reports identity theft, one needs to understand that one's identity has been stolen. There is no point in jumping to conclusions since law enforcement agencies only want hard facts. This means taking time to gather information so as to be able to reasonably determine whether one is truly a victim of identity theft or not. Next, one should determine how the identity was stolen and, providing details regarding the same would help law enforcements in their investigations.

One should also have all relevant documentation such as bank statements, credit reports, Social Security Earnings Report as well as other documentations which will help establish one's claim.

Keep Close Track of Your Personal Information

To report identity theft, one need to contact the local law enforcement who have the jurisdiction to handle the case where local or state laws have been broken. In addition, identity theft is a federal offence. It may also be prudent to report identity theft online with the Federal Trade Commission who will then share the information with the concerned law enforcement agencies. It may not be known by many people but, the United States Postal Service has their own enforcement division and, United States Postal inspectors are federal law enforcement agents that are empowered to investigate cases of postal offenses. One can contact them and report identity theft, if the thief has used the postal service for illegal means.

The Social Security Administration Office is also able to receive as well as handle allegations pertaining to violations of the law that affect Social Security Administration. In case one's social security number has been lost or stolen, this is the concerned agency to contact to report identity theft. In the case of phishing, one may call the FBI Internet Fraud Complaint Center and, filing an online report will alert the authorities to suspected fraudulent activities and they are a central repository for receiving complaints pertaining to internet fraud. Reporting identity theft is the first step in the long journey that victims will travel on in order to clear their names.

Author Details:
Bill Southgate writes for various websites about various things including identity theft with a great interest in home security

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