How to get help

If you are a victim of identity theft and the U.S. mail is involved, call your nearest postal inspection service office, the Julian post office, and the sheriff.

Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft/, which is the federal government’s central consumer assistance and information center. The FTC provides educational materials, self-help tools and an online reporting form for identity theft. The FTC also has a toll-free hotline, (877) ID-THEFT, where victims can discuss their problems with consumer counselors.

Report credit card fraud to the three major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, at (800) 525-6285; Experian, at (888) 397-3742; and TransUnion, at (800) 680-7289.

If you’ve had stolen or bank accounts set up in your name fraudulently, call these check guarantee companies; they can flag your file so that counterfeit checks will be refused: Telecheck, at (800) 366-2425, and International Check Services Company, at (800) 526-5380.

If fraudulent charges appear on your account, call the Consumer Counseling Service at (800) 388-2227.