It may be weeks or months before you suspect that someone has stolen your identity, your money and your credit.

You might notice a strange charge on your bank statement, a fine or penalty notice, or an application for credit that is refused.

Take notes

Act promptly and completely.  That first detection may be evidence that a criminal is probing and is getting a foothold in your life.

This process is annoying and time consuming.  However, every time you cut a corner you'll get more trouble and expense later.  You may also end up in court if the criminal gets caught or say, a bank made a bad error. 

Taking notes could save you thousands of dollars of upfront legal fees.  Get this right and your following tasks will be easier.  If record keeping is not your strong point enlist a friend to help.

Record events

Get a notebook that has numbered pages.  Record:

• your thoughts and suspicions
• what you've investigated and how
• notes of conversations with people in companies and agencies:
• Include dates and times
• cross-reference to earlier notes (page numbers) when possible.
• when you have sent and received documents - sometimes strange things happen with document dates as people try to wriggle out of responsibility for errors

Record expenses

If a bank or other institution failed to follow proper procedures you may be able to claim expenses.  Include a section at the back of the notebook where you record:

• all the time you've spent and costs incurred (there'll be photocopying, postage, maybe lawyer consultations)
• keep receipts in envelopes labelled for each page of the notebook where you're recording them. This will make it easy to assemble claims later.

Identify events that were not your doing

• Establish whether the event that you have identified is really not your doing. Call the bank or agency concerned immediately, tell them that you are concerned about a fraud having occurred, and get all the transaction details until you are certain that it was your transaction.

Contact police

If you have any doubts at all:

• report the incident to the Police.
• Provide copies of any official records and a clear statement as to why you are worried. Quote the bank or government officials with whom you have had contact.
• Ask for a copy of the police report for your files and as a reference.

Undoing the damage

If there are unauthorised accounts

• Contact the business that opened the unauthorised account and close it immediately.
• Provide copies of all documentation to aid the internal investigation the company will hold. Expect delays. They need to establish if you really do owe them money or not and if they did anything wrong.
• Seriously consider closing all your accounts with all institutions and opening new ones - new account numbers and new PINs place you beyond the reach of the criminals on your tail. Really, do this unless you can be certain how far they penetrated into your financial life.
• For every account you close get the institution to provide a formal statement -
  • detailing what accounts were closed and when
  • detailing what actions they have taken and will take concerning your matter, and specific dates by which those actions will be completed
  • acknowledging that you are not responsible for any further debts incurred
  • detailing which accounts and what amounts for which they believe you may be liable.

Other criminal activity in your name

Check with government agencies whether, while abusing your identity, the criminal blotted you public file with criminal records, arrest warrants, traffic violations, and so on.  Start with your local police.  Things to do include:

• fingerprinting - if you need to prove that the real you is different from the criminal.
• removing your name from the offenders' database. If your name must remain in some records of proceedings ensure that it is clearly identified as an alias with a reference to the identity fraud you have suffered. (Criminal records are accessed for all kinds of purposes well into the future by people say, foreign consulate or immigration, checking your background.)
• Consider hiring a lawyer to make sure that you've missed nothing in clearing your name. (Concerned about expense? Contact Legal Aid or the Law Society in your state or territory.)

Sources

Australian Government (2005), ID theft - A Kit to prevent and respond to identity theft.  National Crime Prevention Program, Australian Government.

Cooper, C. and Vale, L (2004), Fraud Prevention - Protecting your personal finances, Credit Union Services Corporation Australia Industry Association