Where do I report identity theft in Georgia?

Identity theft in Georgia gets reported in three places: the Federal Trade Commission, the three nationwide credit bureaus, and local police.

The Federal Trade Commission runs IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government's identity theft recovery site. Entering the details of what happened generates a personal recovery plan and an FTC Identity Theft Affidavit, a document many creditors and credit bureaus require before they will remove a fraudulent account or charge from a file. The site walks through the specific steps for the type of theft reported, whether that is a new credit card opened in someone else's name, a hijacked bank account, or a fraudulent tax return.

A credit freeze with the three nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, is free to place and free to lift. A freeze blocks new creditors from pulling a credit report, which stops most new-account fraud before it starts. Each bureau has to be contacted separately since a freeze with one bureau does not carry over to the others.

A police report matters even when local police cannot recover stolen funds, because many banks, credit card companies, and credit bureaus require a report number before they will investigate a disputed account or remove a fraudulent charge. A report also documents the timeline, which matters if the case later involves a bad-faith insurance dispute or a demand letter to a carrier.

For example, a Gwinnett County resident who discovers a fraudulent auto loan in their name would typically start at IdentityTheft.gov to generate the affidavit, place a freeze with all three bureaus the same day, then file a police report referencing the fraudulent account before contacting the lender to dispute it.

These reporting steps happen before any insurance claim, since a carrier reviewing an identity theft claim will generally want to see the affidavit and the police report as part of the documentation. For what identity theft insurance actually reimburses once those steps are done, see does identity theft insurance pay back stolen money in Georgia. For who tends to get the most value from carrying this coverage, see who in Georgia benefits most from identity theft coverage. Identity theft coverage is commonly added to a renters insurance policy, and a coverage review can confirm whether an existing policy includes it.