Perhaps you’ve had a bad dream that goes something like this: you visit an ATM to withdraw cash, but you get a message saying your account has been overdrawn. “This is a mistake,” you think. You hurry home, log on to your online banking account and your account balance reads “$0.00.” This can’t be happening, can it? 

Staying calm and following the right steps can help put
you on the right path after identity theft.

Unfortunately, this scenario happens to thousands of people every year. Americans lost $559 million to online thieves in 2009, and as we’ve discussed before, criminals are persistent when attempting to gain access to your accounts.  Lincoln Savings Bank utilizes the latest technology and has implemented multiple layers of security to safeguard your account information, but it’s possible that fraud may still happen.  Here’s what to do in the event you think you’re account information or identity has been stolen. 

• Call your bank immediately to put a hold on your account. If needed, the bank can also help close your compromised account and establish a new one to ensure no continued fraudulent activity.
• Ask your bank to file a “fraud” claim on your account. This allows the bank to put the appropriate fraud alerts on your account.
• Check all three of your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. You get a free report annually from all three agencies, so use them to see if any new inquiries have been made.
• Call the companies that made credit inquiries to see if any new accounts were opened. Have them close the accounts that were set up by the thieves.
• Submit a police report. More than likely you’ll have to contact your local police, but you should still contact the police in the area where fraud was committed to see if they’ll take action.
• Be sure to follow up with your bank and the credit agencies to confirm any changes or alerts on your account have been set up. It’s better to be safe than sorry. 

Most of all, you have to be your own advocate in the event your account is compromised by an identity thief.  Continue calling and talking to people until you get a satisfactory resolution.  Should this event happen to your Lincoln Savings Bank account, we will do everything we can to help get you back on track financially.