Report Identity Theft

What Steps Should Be Taken To Report Identity Theft?

Identity theft is a horrible crime that continues to victimize a person long after the theft has occurred. The hassles start when the crime is discovered and continues as the victim tries to repair the damage that was done to their credit history. If the person is lucky, they can report identity theft before the criminal attempts to use their identity for illegal purposes. The ones that are not so lucky do not report identity theft until they are turned down for a credit card or they see on their credit history identity theft has occurred.

For most cases, it is hard to report identity theft because many thieves are good at covering their tracks and the person never knows that their identity has been stolen until long after the person has been obtaining credit in their name or using their identity for other crimes. The credit cards that are opened with their name and social security number are often sent to fake addresses so the person will not ever see a bill for the credit card or a notice that the credit card had been defaulted on. If the telephone number used for the credit card application is a fake as well, the victim will not intercept any collection calls from the creditor either. It is very hard to report identity theft when you do not even know that it is occurring.

What Happens When You Report Identity Theft?

The worst part about having to report identity theft is that the victim often has a difficult time convincing the credit card company that they were not the one that applied for the credit card or that has been using the credit card since it has been issued. If the person is able to report identity theft quickly enough, a person can reduce the damage that occurs to their credit history by calling the credit card company to cancel the account before the credit card is run to its limit and they explain to the customer service representative that their identity has been stolen to open the credit card account. In some cases, when the person decides to report identity theft, they will be required to sign a statement stating that they were a victim of identity theft and authorize the prosecution of whatever person is found to be using their personal information without their permission.

If the person does not report identity theft quickly, then the victim may have a great number of problems when trying to recover from the identity theft. Many credit card companies will only accept a disputed charge within a specific time period. If the person does not report identity theft within that time period, the victim may be held responsible for some of the charges. Some credit card companies will require the person to verify that they were not the person who opened the account. If the company has sold the debt to a collection agency before the victim was able to report identity theft, the victim may be receiving collection calls about the credit card account for years after the identity theft has occurred.