Fraud & Identity Theft

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Welcome to the Santa Barbara Police Department Citizens Online Police Reporting System (for Fraud & Identity Theft). Using this internet police reporting system you will be able to report the incident without waiting and print a copy of the report for free. If you are the victim of identity theft or fraud please get and keep all papers, receipts, cancelled checks, mail from companies, etc. related to this crime. We may contact you to get these items if needed and you should keep copies for your records.

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Tips to Prevent Fraud & Identity Theft

Protect your social security number and only give it out when required by law.
No bank, auction site or other business should send you an email asking you to enter credit card information, passwords, social security numbers or other personal information. Often these fake emails will contain links to pages that look real but are not. If you suspect you are being directed to a fake site please go to the actual home web site of the company and inform them of what has happened.
Avoid mail theft by obtaining a locked mailbox and dropping off outgoing mail at the local post office or postal mailbox.
Do not give out your personal information or credit card number over the phone unless you initiated the call.
Shred credit card offers and bank statements before you throw them away if you do not plan on using them.

Contact Info for Assistance for Victims of Identity Theft or Fraud

These are some groups you should get in touch with if you are the victim of identity theft or fraud, some will ask for the report number you get at the end of this online police report process.

Agency	Web URL	Contact Telephone Number
Equifax	http://www.equifax.com/	1-800-525-6285
Experian	http://www.experian.com/	1-888-397-3742
Trans Union	http://www.transunion.com/	1-800-680-7289
U.S. Federal Trade Commission	http://www.ftc.gov/	1-877-438-4338
Department of Motor Vehicles	Santa Barbara DMV	1-800-777-0133

If you have not yet notified your financial institution or credit company and filed an affidavit of forged documents / Identity Theft, that must be completed BEFORE this report is submitted. Submit copies of that affidavit with this report.

After filing the report, if it is determined a financial institution is going to cover the loss, contact the financial institution or person who suffered the monetary loss and advise them you filed this report and they are the victim. It is necessary that the victim suffering the financial loss submit all relevant evidence including original checks, video footage (if available), copies of transactions, statements etc. If the police department is not contacted by the victim, no further action will be taken in this case. If you, the reporting party, are the victim suffering the financial loss due to identity theft (not including lost work time, time to correct credit reports, etc.) in this case, please state that fact in the narrative you prepare to include with this report.

If the crime occurred in the City of Santa Barbara, it will be investigated by the Santa Barbara Police Department. If the crime occurred in another jurisdiction, this report will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the crime occurred.

Fraud & Identity Theft

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