If you think that you are the victim of identity theft, you probably are. The problem of identity theft is abs
If you think that you are the victim of identity theft, you probably are. The problem of identity theft is absolutely staggering. Here’s a summary of the problem found on Trans Union’s website:
- Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America.
- The number of identity theft incidents has reached 9.9 million a year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
- Every minute about 19 people fall victim to identity theft.
- It takes the average victim an estimated $500 and 30 hours to resolve each identity theft crime.
- Studies have shown that it’s becoming more common for the ones stealing your identity to be those closest to you. One study found 32% of identity theft victims discovered a family member or relative was responsible for stealing their identity. That same study found 18% were victimized by a friend, neighbor or in-home employee.
- Most cases of identity theft can be resolved if they are caught early.
- Financial institutions – like banks and creditors – usually only hold the victim responsible for the first $50 of fraudulent charges.
- Only 28% of identity theft cases involve credit or financial fraud. Phone, utility, bank and employment fraud make up another 50% of cases.
We can help you battle identity theft. We can walk you through the steps you need to take when you’re the victim of identity theft. We can and will sue the creditor reporting agencies and the furnishers of information that have ruined your credit report and complicated your life.
The Nineteen Types of ID Theft
Sadly, most ID thieves are friends, relatives, and spouses. These are the people who have access to the personal information needed to effectively steal a person’s identity. Norton Security has a good article on the 19 types of ID Theft, which are:
- Financial identity theft
- Child identity theft
- Elder fraud
- Estate identity theft
- Medical identity theft
- Tax identity theft
- Identity cloning
- Social Security number identity theft
- Synthetic identity theft
- Biometric identity theft
- Familial or “friendly” identity theft
- Criminal identity theft
- Employment identity theft
- Account takeovers
- Government benefit and unemployment identity theft
- Home title theft
- Internet of Things identity theft
- Mail identity theft
- Passport fraud
Steps to Take
File a police report. Call your local police or sheriff’s department and make a report. Get a copy of the report, which is the main reason for filing the police report. Making the report won’t stop the thief and, most likely, the police will take any action. But making the report and including the copy with any and all dispute letters you send the consumer reporting agencies will give your disputes more weight and will take away defenses the agencies may raise in the future.
File an ID Theft report with the FTC or the US Postmaster Inspector General’s office and keep a copy of the report. Again, the ID Theft report’s main purpose is to make your dispute letters more potent and make any subsequent lawsuit more solid and increase the potential amount of any settlement or judgment.
Freeze your Credit Reports, maybe: Under the FCRA, you have the right to put a freeze on your credit reports. As required by law, the three main CRAs all allow you to put a security freeze on your credit reports: Equifax Experian Trans Union. A security freeze greatly limits third parties from accessing your credit reports. But there is a downside if you are currently in the market for credit, especially if you are in the process of making a purchase like a home or vehicle. A security freeze will make it difficult or impossible for lenders to access your credit reports that they need to qualify you for credit.
An Abundance of Resources
There are lots of really good resources on the web for dealing with identity theft. The best is supplied by the government on the Fair Trade Commission website. The President’s Task Force on Identity Theft also has some good resources and information, which can be found here. Another helpful resource is located on the creditcards.com website. There are many other sites both good and bad as Google and Bing make clear.
Indeed, everything you need to battle identity theft can be found on the web. You can follow all of the proper steps on your own without our help or anyone else’s. But still the chances are fairly good that despite your best and greatest efforts problems will remain on your credit report. It comes down to the fact that the credit reporting agencies just don’t care about you. It often takes a lawsuit to get their attention and get them to do what’s right. That’s where we come in.