Cleaning up ID Theft?

[An Undocumented Worker]

Well apparently some tardass lowlife scumbag opened a fraudulent credit account in my name:mad:. I found out when I recieved a collections notice from a collections agency.

Have already contacted the originator of the credit, and started an ID theft inquiry.

Opened a case with the local police.

Froze credt.

And am in the process of checking my credit reports and disputing erroneous info.


Any other tips, or advice some of ya'll may have for getting this cleared up as painlessly as possible?:(

[SeriousStudent]

My sympathies.

There are several good sources of information you may wish to check. Do some Googling with "US Secret Service", and "Carnegie Mellon University" in the search strings, along with "identity theft". Both off some good advice on both prevention and remediation.

Your local bank may be able to assist as well.

Good luck.

[Selftest]

Also, harp on it. Call back every few days. Become a thorn in their side. Make them do the work until you are satisfied.

Do you have credit out prior to the theft? If so, call those companies and tell them of your problem. While your credit is frozen, might be a good time to get new cards from your legit issuers as well.

When the companies tell you it's cleared up, get a FULL credit report and make SURE its all squared away. Have written documentation from ALL companies involved, preferably a few signed copies. See if the Secret Service will provide you with a letter as well.

Future creditors will see the aberration, and having documented proof is always nice. Go in armed (with paper!) and you're that much better off.