Your Liability
Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone steals and uses your credit card. (Many credit card companies have a benefit in place that actually waves the $50 fee in case you do become a victim.) However, with ATM cards, you could lose up to $500 or more if you do not report any unauthorized transaction to your bank within two business days. If you do report the unauthorized charges within 2 days, you could limit your liability to only $50.

What To Do if You Become A Victim
No matter how many preventative steps you take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, the unthinkable can still occur. In this situation, follow the list of steps below to quickly repair any credit damage. The faster you do this, the better.

1. Contact at least one of the three credit reporting agencies and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit report. Once the fraud alert is placed on your account, it will automatically be placed on the other two. This fraud alert is good for 90 days and can be extended up to 7 years if a report is filed with the police department. The fraud alert notifies credit granters to confirm requests for credit with you before granting them. At this time you will also be eligible for a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau.
2. Report the identity theft to your police of sheriffa??s department and obtain a copy of the police report. Creditors will require the police report when you request to remove negative information from your file.
3. Report the identify theft to the Federal Trade Commission. You will need to complete the Identity Theft Affidavit form. Many of the creditors affected by the theft will need this.
4. Close any account affected by the identity theft.
5. Notify all of your credit card companies and let them know you were a victim of identity theft.
6. Close any unfamiliar accounts.
7. Contact the Social Security Administration if you suspect your Social Security number was compromised or is being used by someone else.
8. Keep copies of all correspondence to credit bureaus, creditors, Federal Trade Commission, Social Security Administration, and others pertaining to the identify theft.
Fraud Contacts
If you are a victim of identity theft, the following list will get you started down the path of clearing your good name. They key is to act quickly.

Credit Bureaus
Equifax
Fraud Reporting Line: 1-800-525-6285
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
www.equifax.com