Identity theft is a terrible crime that will haunt its victims long after the theft has taken place. The problems start when the theft is first discovered, and they continue as you try to fix the damage that has taken place to your credit score. That’s what makes identity theft protection so important.

If you’re fortunate, you can report identity theft before the criminal attempts to use your identity for illegal purposes. Those who are not so fortunate aren’t even aware of the problem until they are turned down for a credit card or they see on their credit history that identity theft has occurred.

In many instances, it’s very difficult to report identity theft because many thieves are good at covering their tracks. Most people have no idea that their identity has been stolen until long after the thief has been obtaining credit in their name or using their identity for other crimes.

Most often, a fake address has been used by the thief who opens a credit card using a stolen name and social security number. So the victim will never see a bill for the credit card or a notice that the credit card had been defaulted on. If the telephone number used for the credit card application is a fake as well, the victim will not intercept any collection calls from the creditor either. It is very hard to report identity theft when you do not even know that it is occurring.

One of the most difficult aspects of having to report identity theft is that the victim can have a hard time persuading the credit card company that they were not the one that applied for or been using the credit card. If the individual is able to report identity theft quickly enough, they can reduce the damage that occurs to their credit history. By calling the credit card company they can explain to the customer service representative that their identity has been stolen to open the credit card account.

When a victim decides to report identity theft, they will often be requested to sign a statement to this effect, and consent to the prosecution of whoever is found to be using their personal information without their permission.

If you don’t report identity theft quickly enough, then you will most likely have a lot of hassles when trying to recover from the crime. Many credit card companies will only accept a disputed charge within a specific time period. If you don’t report identity theft within that time period, you may be held responsible for some of the charges.

Some credit card companies will demand verification that you were not the person who opened the account. If the company has sold the debt to a collection agency before you were able to report identity theft, you may end up getting collection calls for years after the crime has occurred.