Many victims learn about identity theft after they are declined for a loan, receive a past due notice for a credit card or loan they did not open or are contacted by a collection agency for bad checks they never wrote. It only takes a few seconds to become a victim of financial fraud. But it often takes months to recover.
While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim, there are steps you can take to protect your identity and minimize your risk.
Stay up to date with the latest identity theft trends and FBI warnings at
ic3.gov.