Someone opened a credit card in my name - what do I do first?

Okay dont panic. This is fixable. Do these things TODAY: **Immediate steps (in order):** 1. **Freeze your credit at all 3 bureaus** - Equifax, Experian, TransUnion. This prevents any new accounts. Its free and takes 10 minutes online. 2. **Call Capital One fraud department** - Not regular customer service. Tell them this is fraud, you never opened this account. They have a fraud department specifically for this. 3. **File a report at identitytheft.gov** - This is the official FTC site. It generates a recovery plan and affidavit you need. 4. **File a police report** - Some places let you do this online. You need the report number for disputes. 5. **Dispute with credit bureaus** - Send them the FTC affidavit and police report. They must investigate within 30 days. **The good news:** - Youre NOT responsible for fraudulent charges - Your credit will be fixed once you dispute - Capital One deals with this constantly and has a process I went through this 2 years ago. Stressful but fully resolved within 60 days. Credit was fine. You got this.

Adding to what others said - after you freeze your credit, also set up fraud alerts AND consider an IRS identity protection PIN. Tax refund fraud often follows credit fraud. Learned this the hard way.

Been through this twice unfortunately. The freeze is the most important step. Also check if your state has any identity theft victim assistance - California has a whole unit that helped me navigate everything for free.