<prompt> Human: My dad called me sort of in distress. He doesnt normally call me so this raised red flags. After questioning his true intentions after some small talk, he finally told me he fell for one of those scams on the computer where it says you have a virus and have to call a certain number to eradicate it.He called the number and gave the thieves basically all his information, apparently even the last 4 of his social. What can he do to protect himself? He closed his card down that he gave the company but with all that information, how does someone not open an account in his name, etc.?  <response>: What can he do to protect himself?Notify the police. Theyll tell him what to do. Once the report is open, contact the credit companies and put a freeze on his credit. Theyll do it for free if an identity theft case is opened.The reality is thats all he can do. Also be diligent of ANYTHING out of the norm from here on out. Your dad made a foolish mistake and, unfortunately, hes at the mercy of the people who have his identity. Ive worked in this field extensively and, luckily for him, the likelihood of the criminals actually using his information are slim to none. Regardless, he needs to be extremely diligent from here on out. Anything they do may be tied back to him. Generally, intermediaries have a 3 day rule where anything caught within those 3 days can be reversed and you have a stronger chance of anything they criminals do not being tied to you OR estopped quickly enough that it doesnt go through. He needs to be diligent enough to hit that 3 day rule. After that, the chances of anything being reversed are slim to none and discharging it may take months or even years. We had a guy who had a car loan taken out under his name, wasnt his. I worked for intermediary for 3 years while in school before leaving and they still hadnt discharged it and it totally trashed his credit.Contact the police and listen to them. He also needs to be sure if he gave other info bday, job, address, etc. that he remains on the watch for anything suspect.Also consider checking here 