ID Theft, How do you recover?

Well, to continue the piece on ID theft. Another part of the woman's day article is entitled: If your identity is stolen, follow these five steps:
1. Put a fraud alert on your credit reports. You only have to contact one credit bureau (equifax.com, experian.com or transunion.com). They, in turn, will alert the other two.
2. Get copies of your credit reports. Once you place a fraud alert, you're entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau Check each report for unauthorized charges.
3. Notify your bank, creditors and utility companies about any affected accounts. Speak to someone in the security or fraud department; follow up in writing.
4. Call 877-IDTHEFT or visit FTC.gov to alert the Federal Trade Commission.
5. File a police report. It will be helpful if creditors want proof of a crime.

The article also mentions turning off your friends ability to share your information on social networking sites. This can be difficult for some as networking is how some make their living and build their companies. I will tell you that it is very easy to place the fraud alert on your credit report. Thankfully, my bank has a great fraud department and they gave me tips on who, what and how this may have happened to me. I have taken steps to help, but this still does not mean I am completely safe. My only hope by posting about this topic is that the information helps someone and that this in turn makes it tougher on those who choose to be thieves!