Identity Theft Checklist

Notify affected creditors or banks. Put a fraud alert on your credit report. Check your credit reports. Freeze your credit. Report the identity theft to the FTC. Go to the police. Remove fraudulent info from your credit report.

Under California law, you can report identity theft to your local police department. Ask the police to issue a police report of identity theft. Give the police as much information on the theft as possible. One way to do this is to provide copies of your credit reports showing the items related to identity theft.

File a claim with your identity theft insurance, if applicable. Notify companies of your stolen identity. File a report with the FTC. Contact your local police department. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Freeze your credit. Sign up for a credit monitoring service, if offered.

The four types of identity theft include medical, criminal, financial and child identity theft.

The stress can even take a toll on you physically. For example, a study by the Identity Theft Resource Center found that 41% of identity theft victims experience sleep disturbances, and 29% develop other physical symptoms, including aches and pains, heart palpitations, sweating and stomach issues.

Identity theft in California can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on (1) the defendant's criminal history, and (2) the specific facts of the case. A person convicted of misdemeanor identity theft faces up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Periodically check your credit reports. Coming across suspicious activity on your credit reports, such as new accounts you don't recognize, is a quick way to identify potential fraud. You can get free copies of your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Police departments can do very little to investigate and prosecute identity theft.You can use the Identity Theft Report to help get false information taken off your credit reports, stop a company from collecting debts and place an extended fraud alert on your credit reports.