eHelpIdentity theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of information such as Social Security and driver's license numbers and uses them for their own personal gain..
All California residents are entitled to a free credit report annually. You can request a report from one or more of the credit agencies at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. Monitoring and periodically reviewing your credit report is an effective tool in fighting identity theft.
If you have received notice that your personal information may have been exposed, you are advised to place a "fraud alert" on your credit file with the three major credit bureaus. This is a free service that will request creditors to verify your identity before opening a new account.
You may place an Initial 90-day Fraud Alert by calling any one of the three nationwide credit reporting companies (Experian also provides an on-line process at the Experian Credit Fraud Center). The agency that accepts your request will share your request with the other two credit reporting companies, which will add the alert to your file or request that you provide them additional information. You will receive a confirmation when an alert is added to your file. You may also request a free credit report from each of the three agencies.
Visit the California Office of privacy protection http://privacy.ca.gov/cover/identitytheft.htm and http://privacy.ca.gov/cover/consumerinfo.htm for comprehensive information on identity theft.
Credit agencies can be contacted directly as follows:
The following resources provide additional information about identity theft:
