The Credit Roadmap: Identity Theft Prevention and Response Manual

Identity theft has become a crime that affects 9 million Americans from all walks of life each year. The average victim spends 175 hours trying to combat the effects of identity theft. I have compiled a response manual to help people save themselves the time of researching exactly what to do if they ever were to become a victim. Save this packet, hopefully you will never need it. But just like a fire extinguisher, keep it handy in case the need ever arises. I suggest putting it in a kitchen drawer or a filing cabinet.

When it comes to identity theft you have to move quickly. Your emotions will be running high, and unfortunately remedying the situation can be confusing. Follow the steps in this manual. Seek the advice and recommendations of the individual creditors involved in the theft - they may have internal procedures you will want to be aware of.

If you don’t already have a copy of your credit report I advise you to get a copy right now. After reviewing it place the report in a safe place, such as a safety deposit box. The reason for this is that you will have a record of what your credit history looks like now; giving you a map of where you need to get back to if the worst case scenario happens in an ID theft situation. I also advise you to photocopy the front and back of everything in your wallet. Place this with your credit report so in the event your wallet is ever lost or stolen you will have the contact numbers on the back of your credit cards and you will know what items were lost.

Preventative measures are the key to avoiding ID theft, so you will find a section in this manual dedicated to preventing ID theft from occurring in the first place. Take as many precautions as you can. However, some circumstances are out of our personal control. One example would be a security breach where a computer system containing our personal information is infiltrated. Check out the preventative measures detailed in this manual so you can do your best to avoid ID theft happening to you.

Sincerely,

Patrick Ritchie
Author, The Credit Road Map

The purpose of this booklet is to explain a subject that most people do not fully know or understand. Many people seem to know something about credit, but few know all the information necessary to control their credit.