REMOVING BAD CREDIT FOR IDENTITY THEFT VICTIMS

Identity Theft ranks as the number one complaint to the FTC year after year and accounted for 37% of all complaints in 2005. Identity Theft is a real problem in today’s society. Your good credit rating can be damaged when someone uses your personal information without your permission to open credit accounts. The purpose of this article is to outline some of the steps that you can take to have the bad credit that results from this activity removed from your credit report.

If you suspect that your identity has been stolen, then you must immediately contact the CRA’s (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to have a Fraud Alert added to your credit file. A Fraud Alert will help prevent the thief from opening any new accounts in your name. You must also contact the fraud department of any company that you know or suspect has had an account opened or tampered with and you must have those accounts closed immediately.

The next step involves filing an identity theft report. This is an important step. Under the “Police Report Initiative” credit bureaus will automatically block fraudulent accounts and bad debts from appearing on your credit report. You will need to file a report. Unfortunately, there is no federal law requiring a federal agency to take a report about identity theft. State laws vary and depending on your geographic location, you may be told that identity theft is not a crime under state law. If this is the case then the FTC recommends that you request to file a “Miscellaneous Incidents” Report instead. Florida (myfloridalegal.com) has an identity theft law, allowing the report to be filed in the location in which the offense occurred, or, the county in which you reside.

The FTC has an ID Theft Affidavit (consumer.gov/idtheft/pdf/affidavit.pdf) that is accepted by many companies (some creditors require a different or additional forms). The affidavit should be completed and notarized and contains a Fraudulent Account Statement that must be copied for as many accounts that will be disputed on the basis of identity theft.



The following excerpts are from the FTC’s website (consumer.gov/idtheft/con_resolv.htm#correct):

“Consumer reporting companies will block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report if you take the following steps: Send them a copy of an identity theft report and a letter telling them what information is fraudulent.”

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Sample Blocking Letter Consumer Reporting Company


Date
Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code

Complaint Department
Name of Consumer Reporting Company
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a victim of identity theft. I am writing to request that you block the following fraudulent information in my file. This information does not relate to any transaction that I have made. The items also are circled on the attached copy of the report I received. (Identify item(s) to be blocked by name of source, such as creditors or tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.)

Enclosed is a copy of the law enforcement report regarding my identity theft. Please let me know if you need any other information from me to block this information on my credit report.

Sincerely,
Your name

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.)
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Note: “The consumer reporting company has four business days to block the fraudulent information after accepting your identity theft report.”

“Information providers will stop reporting fraudulent information to the consumer reporting companies once you send them an identity theft report and a letter explaining that the information that they’re reporting resulted from an identity theft”