Filing A Police Report If Your Identity Is Stolen
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Identity Theft?
- How do identity thieves steal an identity?
- What do identity thieves do with a stolen identity?
- How can you find out if your identity has been stolen?
- What should you do if your identity is stolen?
- Should you file a police report if your identity is stolen?
- How long can the effects of identity theft last?
- What can you do to help fight identity theft?
Should You File A Police Report If Your Identity Is Stolen?
A police report that contains specific details of the identity theft incident is known as an Identity Theft Report, which enables victims to certain legals rights when it is given to the three credit bureaus or to companies involved in the theft. An Identity Theft Report can be used to permanently block fraudulent information that is a direct result of identity theft, such as accounts or addresses, from appearing on a victim's credit report. This report will also ensure that any theft related debts will not reappear on any future credit reports.
Identity Theft Reports can also prevent a company from continuing to collect fraudulent debts, or selling them to others for collection. This report is also needed to place an extended fraud alert. Individuals should strongly consider filing an Identity Theft Report if a thief has opened new accounts in their name, or if fraudulent charges have been reported to credit reporting agencies like Equifax.
Before filing a report with the police, individuals should obtain an ID Theft Complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, and bring their printed complaint with them to the police station. The printed ID Theft Complaint can be used as evidence to support an individual's local police report to ensure that it contains all the necessary details.
A police report is also needed to obtain copies of the thief's application as well as transaction information from companies that dealt with the thief. In order to receive this information, an individual must submit a request in writing along with the police report to the company's address.
