Please-Help/Advice Needed- Monitoring Credit

[hapandpam]

I just realized that I lost several papers somewhere today that contained a lot of confidential information on my college age daughter. There was a bank statement with credit card information, and some tax information that probably had her social security number on it. I am frantic. The bank can be contacted in the morning, but I am really worried someone will use the social security information. Does anyone have advice? I was thinking I should sign her up with a credit monitoring service but don't really know where to start with this. Any advice that you have would be greatly appreciated. I feel so stupid for dropping this paperwork so in a store or parking lot. Hopefully someone will return it or trash it.

 

[msmayor]

If she is over 18, you will need to have HER take care of this. Banks and credit agencies will need her permission to do anything.

Certainly contacting the bank will help but also all three credit reporting agencies should be contacted and asked to freeze her identity/ss#/etc from any new accounts opening. This way if someone attempts to open an account with her info, when they go to pull her credit report they will know about the freeze and the application should be denied.

She will have to watch her credit report for a year or more.