Prevention is always the best medicine when it comes to staying safe online, but if you are a victim of identity theft, there are several avenues of action:  

1.      Call the creditors on any accounts that might have been compromised, and file a report with the local police or the police where the identity theft occurred.  

2.      Visit the Web site and file a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center , a joint effort sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the national White Collar Crime Center .

3.      Submit a fraud or identity theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which keeps a database of fraud reports for investigation. The fraud departments of major credit bureaus are: Equifax 800-525-6285, Experian 888-397-3742, and Trans Union 800-680-7289. 

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center ’s Web sit is www.ifccfbi.gov. The FTC’s site is www.ftc.gov. The National Fraud Information Center is at www.fraud.org.