The Federal Trade Commission, in its effort to stem the flow on identity theft, has developed a three part plan to educate the public on the dangers of fraud, how to prevent it, how to identify it, and how to deal with it in the case of the victim.  Deter, Detect, Defend is a program that is set up as an easy to follow, step by step plan of protection and action.  One of the things the Federal Trade Commission stresses heavily is to file reports with both the local law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission itself.  The more backup you have and the more seriously you take it, the more likely you are to find yourself under an umbrella of local and federal protection and action.  However, some local officials either don’t yet understand just how insidious identity theft can be, or fully understand how to deal with it.  So if you find yourself a victim of identity theft and you have already taken the proactive step of looking to the Federal Trade Commission’s website to find out what to do, and have attempted to file a report with the local, but found that they do not take it seriously or they will not file a report, then the Federal Trade Commission has a plan for you.  Supply the local law enforcement’s office with a copy of the Law Enforcement Cover Letter (which is handily available on the FTC’s website).  This document explains to the officer why a police report and the Identity Theft Report are so vital for victims who are dealing with this particular problem.  Show them all of the information and tools that you have gathered already in an attempt to highlight the importance of the help you need. Show them letters from debt collectors, or faulty credit reports, a copy of the ID theft report, anything to emphasize how important the matter is.

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