If you're a victim of identity theft, you will likely need to contact banks, credit card companies, and department stores. Most companies have what's called an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) in place to "help" you.

These systems can be very frustrating, especially when you're stressed out and just need to talk to a fellow human being to work out your problems. That's where the IVR Cheat Sheet comes in handy.

Paul English, Boston resident and CTO of travel search engine company Kayak.com [1], decided to take matters into his own hands and create a cheat sheet for major institutions in the U.S. [2] and the U.K. [3]

Here are some examples of what you'll find:

• Trans Union - 800-916-8800. No cheat is necessary. Just press 2 and you're connected directly to a real person.
• Bank of America - 800-900-9000 and press 0.
• MasterCard - 800-MC-ASSIST and then press 000 on each menu.
• PayPal - 402-935-7733 and then say "agent."
• eBay - 800-322-9266 and then press 0,0.

Isn't this fun! The list contains over 259 companies as well as a how-to guide [4] for companies that aren't listed.

Here's the link: The IVR Cheat Sheet [2]