How to Repair Identity Theft in Canada

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in North America, with over 2000 new cases being reported every month. The growing number of victims of this crime means that more and more people are having to go through the process of repairing their credit after their identity has been stolen.

Victim of Identity Theft in Canada? Try Prepaid Legal

It can be a long, complicated, and frustrating process, and the laws have not been able to keep up with the new and ever-changing methods of the criminals. But you do have some recourse.

The following are some ways to repair your credit if it has been damaged by identity theft.

• Set up fraud alerts. This is done by contacting the three major credit unions: Equifax and Trans-Union. Their contact information can be found online. They will issue an emergency 3-month fraud alert, so that any credit activity during that time will be monitored and will not become part of your established credit record. When you contact these three agencies, request a free copy of your credit report, so that you can see what activity has been reported under your name.
  
  
• Call the police. There needs to be an official record that you are the victim of a crime. The police can often catch identity thieves if they have the right information in a timely manner.
  
  
• Do your research. During your 3-month fraud alert, follow up on your credit cards, bank accounts, loans, or any other accounts you have. Let your credit companies and financial institutions know that you have been a victim of identity theft. This should be done both over the telephone and in writing. You may need to cancel your credit cards, but your company can issue you new ones. During this time your goal is two-fold; you want to minimize any further damage by removing the availability of your credit to the thief, and you want to collect evidence that someone has been tampering with your accounts or attempting to open new accounts in your name. You will need this evidence for your next step.
  
  
• Set up longer alerts. Identity theft is a crime that can reverberate for years, so your 3-month fraud alert with the major credit unions will not be sufficient to protect you; it is merely a first step. Once you have evidence that someone is abusing your identity, the credit unions will extend your fraud alert to seven years. This will keep you from being liable for fraudulent charges on your credit report for the next seven years.
  
  
• Get FTC affidavits. Most creditors will accept these standard affidavit forms to certify that you are not responsible for debts charged by the thief.
  
  
• Dealing with debt collectors. If debt collectors call you and attempt to get you to pay for debts that were not yours, explain to them that you have been the victim of identity theft. Under the law, you are not responsible for debts that you did not accrue.

If you've been a victim of identity theft in Canada I would recommend having a look at Prepaid Legal as a way of saving yourself time and money.

Prepaid Legal has a powerful system that will help you completely restore your identity back to the way it was. It's very inexpensive relative to trying to restore your identity records yourself.

NOTE: Prepaid Legal is available only in the following Canadian Provinces:
British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario