Question: Should I call the police if I suspect identity theft, or just my credit card company?

Answer: If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft, you should contact the police, as well as your financial institutions and the major credit-reporting bureaus, according to the Honolulu Police Department. Call 911 and ask for a nonemergency response; an officer will be dispatched and write up a police report. You can obtain a verification letter (confirming that a police report was filed) to provide creditors when you dispute fraudulent charges.

HPD explains that identity theft occurs when someone acquires your personal information and uses it to commit fraud against you, including by accessing and controlling your financial accounts, opening new bank accounts, purchasing merchandise and applying for and using loans and credit cards.

On its website, HPD provides specific guidance to help victims combat this crime and restore their good names. We’ll recap the tips here; for more details, go to 808ne.ws/1PwOYxO.

If your identity is stolen:

>> Keep a detailed log noting the date and time you first discovered the problem; add new information as it arises. Retain the document for future reference even after your credit is restored.

>> Report the crime to the police. Once a police report is generated, record the report number in your log.

>> Obtain a verification letter from HPD’s Records and Identification Division. Make copies of the verification letter and provide creditors the letter when you dispute fraudulent charges.

>> If credit cards and/or checks were stolen, immediately contact your financial institutions. Cancel credit cards and close bank accounts as necessary. Ask your financial institution to notify you of any attempts to use closed accounts. Inform police of any attempts that occur.

>> Contact other companies where you believe your identity may be fraudulently used. Monitor statements and credit reports and contest all false charges. Inform police of all fraud that occurs.

>> Notify the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax, 800-685-1111; equifax.com

Experian, 888-397-3742; experian.com

TransUnion, 800-916-8800; transunion.com 

>> Make sure you understand and follow your financial institutions’ procedures to contest fraudulent charges. Keep all written communication. Record the names and contact information of employees helping you.

Q: Does the federal government pay for special education?

A: Yes, but only partly, and at far lower a rate than was envisioned when the U.S. law now known as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act first passed in 1975. The law mandates that schools identify students with disabilities and provide them a free and appropriate education.

In fiscal year 2015 the federal contribution covered about 16 percent of the estimated cost of educating students with disabilities nationwide, according to the journal Education Week. The rest of the funding comes from state governments and school districts.

The law originally projected that by 1982 the federal government would pay 40 percent of the national average expenditure per special-education student. But the federal contribution has never approached that level, except for a couple of years after 2009’s federal stimulus law, according to the journal.

The rule of thumb is that it costs about twice as much to educate a special-education student as it does a regular-education pupil, according to Education Week.

Hawaii public and charter schools educate 180,409 students, 17,415 of whom are in special education, according to the state Department of Education’s 2015-16 enrollment report.

Eighty percent of the DOE’s 2015-16 operating budget comes from Hawaii general funds, primarily state tax revenues; 13 percent comes from federal funds; 5 percent from special funds; and 1 percent from trust funds, according to the department’s website.

Mahalo

A great big mahalo to the honest persons who found my wallet and turned it in at the Safeway gas station on Fort Weaver Road. And another mahalo to the clerks at the gas station for contacting us. Their actions gave us an uplift knowing that there are still honest and honorable folks around. — L.S.

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.