If you feel like someone’s stolen your identity, then it’s probably a good idea to trust your instincts.
After all, you don’t want your credit and financial history to go down the drain! Not taking action can ruin your livelihood and prevent you from rebuilding it in the future.
But you might still want better confirmation for your suspicions. You’ll either ease your mind or understand that you need a plan of action — this time, in the form of legal support.
So keep reading to learn more. Below, we’ll explain four signs that you’ve become a victim of identity theft. If any of them resonate with you, then call an identity theft lawyer today!
1. Being Denied Credit
You might be a victim of identity theft if you’re unexpectedly denied credit. When identity thieves get hold of your personal information, they can open new accounts. They’ll open new credit cards or lines of credit using your information.
Once they use these accounts, they’re highly unlikely to pay bills in your name too. For this reason, your credit score will most likely drop quite a bit. Your credit history won’t look too great to future creditors and it will be harder for you to obtain new sources of credit.
It’s difficult to know whether you’ve become a victim of identity theft until after they’ve committed some damage. But if you notice some unexplained drops in your credit score or aren’t able to use/open credit when you would otherwise be able to, then it’s time to call an identity theft attorney.
2. Debt Collector Calls
After an identity thief obtains your personal information, they’ll most drain your finances fairly quickly. When they do, you’ll get plenty of calls from debt collectors for debts that you don’t owe. If you’re suddenly getting debt collector calls for bills that aren’t yours, then it’s time to take action.
First, ask for documentation. This way, you’ll know for sure if the debt they’re trying to collect is not yours. If you realize that the documented debt is not yours, then send them as much documentation as you can proving that you’ve fallen victim to identity theft.
But don’t stop at trying to convince your debt collectors. Having an identity theft attorney on your side will double your defense against these debt collectors. This is especially if you’re not sure what the best strategy is for convincing them that your identity has been stolen.
3. Credit Company Calls
Your credit company will do what it can to ensure identity theft protection. Credit companies don’t have the same authority as law enforcement do, but they’ll be on high alert for any suspicious charges to your account.
Such suspicious charges include those in large amounts or from faraway places. They’ll give you a call to confirm that any charge they deem suspicious was meant to happen. If the charges they’re calling for aren’t yours, then you might have a case of a stolen identity on your hands.
If these signs are the earliest and only signs of identity theft you experience, then you’re in luck. You’ll be able to file claims, reports, freeze your credit, and more. All before identity thieves can do anything worse to your credit.
However, there’s still a good chance that they’ll do worse things to your credit until then. Then, it’s time to call an identity theft lawyer, who’ll have all the expertise and knowledge necessary to defend you and your personal information.
4. Suspicious Credit Usage After Using Public WiFi
Public WiFi is convenient — even necessary to some. But it’s not always the most secure kind of network to use. For that reason, many identity thieves will deliberately stake out any potential identity theft victims in coffeehouses, hotels, and more.
There are several ways you can prevent this from happening, besides avoiding public WiFi networks altogether. You can research or ask a reputable travel guide source (if traveling) which cafés or hotels are the most secure WiFi spots.
If using a public computer, then delete your online history, cookies, and caches before you leave your spot. Even if you’re only using a social media account, that might be all a savvy identity thief needs to eventually steal your identity.
Using your own device is a different story. Make sure all your devices are protected with a password. If your devices are stolen in public, they’ll have a much harder time accessing your information before you can conduct additional security measures to protect it.
You should also have the latest security software installed. It’s also a good idea to install a VPN, though they can be pricey. This way, your data will be encrypted and thieves won’t be able to access your data through public WiFi networks.
Of course, it might be too late to prevent this problem if you’re on this page. Though these are great tips to use for the future, calling an identity theft attorney is a great one to use now.
Call an Identity Theft Lawyer TODAY!
These are only a few out of many indications that you’ve fallen victim to identity theft. But once you’ve figured out that you are, then there’s absolutely no time to wait before you get an identity theft lawyer by your side.
This article should have covered some signs that you need an identity theft lawyer. If it did, then check out the rest of our blog! We’ve got plenty of other articles for readers such as you.
