This free 10 step guide will get you on the road to recovery from identity theft.

1. Risk Resources Group
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Reclaiming Your Identity…
10 Steps to Fraud Recovery
Jon McDowall, CFE, PCI, CIFI
President and CEO
Risk Resources Group

2. You’re Not Alone
• Each year, several million people fall victim to identity fraud.
• The perpetrator(s) may be someone known to you or someone
thousands of miles away in another country.
• You may never know who is responsible for your victimization.
• It’s normal to feel violated, betrayed, frustrated and alone.
• You have to take responsibility for your recovery.
• This guide contains specific suggestions and steps you should
consider in order to gain control of the situation.

3. Step 1: Catch Your Breath
Gather your composure and resolve to take back control of your
identity.
Honestly, things may get worse before they get better. The process
of discovering that you’re a victim of identity fraud can be a bumpy
ride but take heart – you’re taking steps right now to stop this ride.
It’s important that you determine the extent of the problem, address
the issues you’ve identified and take steps to minimize future
problems.
You can and need to take this challenge on. Doing nothing will only
compound your current problems.
Okay, take a deep breath and let’s press on…

4. Step 2: Start a Journal
Starting now, get a notebook, start a journal or open a Word document
and start documenting the following:
• Your understanding of the issues you’ve identified
• Any thoughts regarding the suspected source(s) of your victimization
• Specific steps you’ve taken
• Notes of discussions with persons you’ve contacted (include details
with dates, times, names, phone numbers and identifiers of those
contacted)
• Follow-up actions you need to take and when you need to take them

5. Step 3: File a Police Report
Once you’re convinced that you are, indeed, a victim of identity fraud,
one of the most important steps you’ll need to take is getting an incident
report number.
Unfortunately, this is a topic about which much confusion abounds –
even among law enforcement.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a victim of identity fraud is
a victim where he or she lives. You should contact your local law
enforcement entity for this incident report.
Insist on getting an incident report, even if the representative tries to
steer you elsewhere. If need be, assure them that you don’t
necessarily expect that they’ll conduct an investigation. *
* A small percentage of identity fraud cases are actually investigated by law enforcement.

6. Step 4: Take Immediate Action
Once you’ve gotten an incident report number (or sooner, if you’re
having trouble getting this), you’ll need to begin addressing the fraud
issues you’ve already uncovered.
Contact all appropriate entities to notify them of the problem and to
close accounts, re-issue cards, etc.
This may include creditors, financial institutions and/or issuers of
driver’s licenses, passports or other documents, if they’ve been lost
or stolen.
As you make contact with entities and individuals, be sure to utilize
your journal to document the discussion and actions to be taken by
either party, as well as contact phone numbers and identifying
information of those with whom you’ve spoken.

7. Step 5: Get Your Credit Report
It’s very important to determine the extent of the problem to the best of your
ability. Because over a year passes before the average identity fraud victim
becomes aware that a problem exists, there’s no way to initially know how
limited or extensive the problem is.
One of the most important steps you can take is to obtain a copy of your credit
report from each of the three credit bureaus. By law, you may do this for free
once a year. You can do this one of three ways:
• www.annualcreditreport.com
• 1-877-322-8228
• Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
* Please don’t request your credit report via computer if you suspect a virus, trojan or hack.

8. Step 6: Consider Credit Monitoring
Because identity fraud can re-visit its victims over months or years,
it’s important to consider enrolling in a credit monitoring service.
Credit monitoring will allow you to remain passively vigilant – you
can remain on guard while allowing yourself to relax a little
because you’ll be quickly notified if anyone applies for credit in
your name.
It’s recommended that you patronize one of the three major credit
bureaus or, if you’d prefer, you can get monitoring of all three
bureaus’ reports related to you.
Research the products carefully and make a determination
whether you need all of the offered services. In many cases, the
basic monitoring will suffice without a lot of bells and whistles.

9. Step 7: Take Action as Needed
Once you’ve gotten your credit reports, review them and identify any
entries that you’re unsure about. Research them and take action if
accounts need to be shut down.
As you did when you first learned that you had a problem, you’ll
need to contact all appropriate entities to notify them of the problem
and to close accounts, re-issue cards, etc.
Remember to be sure to utilize your journal to document the
discussion, action plans, contact phone numbers and identifying
information of those with whom you’ve spoken.
You may need to take this sort of action at various times through the
discovery and recovery process. Stay resolute and strong. You can
and need to do this whenever new discoveries are made.

10. Step 8: Assess Your Risk
Assessing your ongoing identity fraud risk is an important step in recovery and
prevention against future problems.
As you assess your risk, you’ll want to consider the following, among other
things:
• What you’ve learned about know about your first victimization
• Your computer usage, knowledge, skills and protection
• Your practices regarding protecting your personally identifying information
(PII). Relatives, acquaintances, garbage, mail, credit card offers and your
computer usage and protection should be considered.
Once victimized, you run an increased risk of future issues. Stay Vigilant.

11. Step 9: Reduce Your Risk
It’s normal and good to be more protective of your personally identifying
information (PII) after an incident of identity fraud.
Don’t be quick to give out your phone number, account information or PII.
Got a shredder? Get one and use it! Shred anything of a sensitive nature.
Get unsolicited credit card offers? Consider calling 1.888.OPT OUT
(1.888.382.1222) to stop these offers.
Is your computer protected properly? Update anti-virus and anti-spyware and use
extreme caution when browsing. Don’t click on links, pictures or attachments from
unknown senders.
* This is by no means a comprehensive list and is intended to get you started as you think about your risks. Use common
sense to determine and reduce your individual risk.

12. Step 10: RELAX!
Once you’ve dealt with the problems you’ve become aware of and
have set yourself up through credit monitoring to be notified of future
problems, you can go into passive vigilance mode.
You can be passive because you’ll be notified if a problem surfaces
again. You’ll need to remain vigilant because identity fraud can re-
visit its victims, potentially multiple times over several years.
There are sure to be lessons to be learned from your experiences.
Put practices into place to reduce your identity fraud risk and
consider telling others about what you’ve learned. Perhaps they
can learn from you what you had to learn from experience.
If you found this e-book helpful, please tell us: assistance(at)riskresourcesgroup.com

13. FAQ
Q: I’ve been told that I should freeze my credit. Is this true?
A: I would not recommend a credit freeze unless you’re in the throws of ongoing
frauds being perpetrated in your name and you seem unable to gain control.
Credit freezes are subject to various states’ laws, can cost you money to file and
can seriously hamper your own ability to get credit, if needed.
Q: Should I should place a “fraud alert” in my credit file?
A: If you find that you continue to be re-visited by identity fraud, you may want to
place a fraud alert in your file. This is done by contacting the three credit
bureaus; Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. In effect, you can write a brief
note to prospective creditors advising that you’ve been a victim of identity fraud
and asking them to take specific steps before extending credit (ask for a
password, call a number, ask for ID, etc.)

14. FAQ
Q: Should I sign up for an identity fraud recovery service?
A: This is a matter of personal preference. As is the case with credit monitoring
services, research the services being offered to you. In my opinion, your best
and fastest course to recovery involves your direct involvement in that recovery.
Even if you sign a Power of Attorney so that someone else can help you, I
recommend that you stay engaged. You have too much at stake to become
complacent.
Q: I’ve been told to apply for a different Social Security number because of my
identity fraud. What do you think?
A: In a word, NO. This may seem like an easy answer to your identity fraud
problem but will not resolve your issues and may actually create others.
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to identity fraud recovery.

15. Additional Resources
Federal Trade Commission’s Deter Detect Defend Program:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/index.html
On Guard Online Program:
http://www.onguardonline.gov/
InfraGard Awareness Program:
http://www.infragardawareness.com

16. About the Author
Jon McDowall, CFE, PCI, CIFI, CII, CPI
Managing Partner
Risk Resources Group
866.355.3866
Jon has been conducting fraud investigations for over 23 years. In that time, he’s
successfully concluded thousands of investigations. He is a court-recognized
expert regarding identity frauds and has been providing victim assistance and
advice, often on a pro-bono basis, for several years.
He is a founding member of the Center for Information Security Awareness and
twice served as the chair of the ASIS International Economic Crime Council. He is
the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Anti-Fraud Awareness award,
given by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
You may send your questions or comments to:
assistance(at)riskresourcesgroup.com

17. Disclaimer & Notice
Notice:
This identity fraud e-book is designed to provide suggested practices for determining the extent
of an individual’s identity fraud victimization and initiating steps to recovery. This guide is
provided as a free service. Because every identity fraud situation is unique, this guide cannot
address all possible circumstances. Therefore, the author and Risk Resources Group / Fraud
Resource Group, LLC accept no liability for the content of this guide, or for consequences of any
actions or inactions taken on the basis of the provided information.
Individuals who suspect that they are victims of identity fraud are granted license to use this
guide on an as-is basis.
This e-book is copyright protected and may not be copied, replicated or distributed, in whole or in
part, without the express written consent of the author.
Copyright 2011. Risk Resources Group / Fraud Resource Group, LLC. All rights reserved.