I am a victim of identity theft. How can I handle this?
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at
2:11 am
AnthonyPaul asked:
I recently checked my credit report and discovered that my SSN is under a different name and credit accounts opened totaling nearly $400,000!
I recently checked my credit report and discovered that my SSN is under a different name and credit accounts opened totaling nearly $400,000!
It lists accounts for numerous credit cards, auto loans, a $150,000 mortgage and $47,000 home improvement loan. I never opened any of these. They are all being paid on time and some of these accounts were opened in 1997 when I was only 17.
How is this possible and how can I dispute this?
Tagged with: Credit Accounts • Credit Cards • Credit Report
Filed under: Identity Theft
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You need to do several things to get this cleared up. It make take a few months or up to years to get this cleared up on your credit report. I’ ve seen this happen to numerous people and they are still fighting to have things remove from their credit report b/c of identity theft.
1. You need to get a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus and dispute whatever is wrong on your credit report. After you have submitted the errors on your credit report they have 30 days to get back in contact with you. If they do not get back in contact with you it automatically comes off your credit report.
2. You need to go down to the police station and file a report.
3. You need to put a credit alert(i.e. with the 3 credit bureaus) on your account so no new credit can be open using your name or social.
4. If you have the extra money hire a private detective. Odds are you may be able to find the culprits faster since they are still making payments on these things using your social security number.
It’s possible that it just got posted under your name in error. Call Trans Union Customer Service toll free @ 1-800-916-8800, then say or type in the reference # which should be on top of credit report. That will transfer to a live individual who should be able help resolve the problem. For Experian, call 1-800-509-8495 then type in your area code. For Equifax 1-866-585-9451 and type in their reference number.
Chances are someone sold your information to someone to use. This is called piggybacking and it provides a good credit history for those who could not get credit in the first place. This is why the debts are being paid on time and not just someone who stole your ID and charged up debts and dissapeared without paying.
However, it is still illegal so you need to do the following:
First of all DO NOT place a “freeze” on your credit reports. You will have to pay a fee to do so (some states allow you to do so for free but only to place the freeze) and it also costs a fee to have it lifted if you want to apply for a loan. A Freeze is the last resort.
Call the toll-free fraud number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. An alert can help stop someone from opening new credit accounts in your name.
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285;; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742);; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289;; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
An initial alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you’ve been taken in by a “phishing” scam. When you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report, you’re entitled to one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies.
Hope this helps answer your question.
quickly notify the police , cc companies and the 3 bureaus toi place an identity fraud alert on your report so that no new accounts can be opened w/o you authorization