What to Do If a Family Member Stole Your Identity
Discovering that someone stole your identity is stressful. Finding out the person responsible is your parent, spouse, sibling, ex-spouse, or another relative can make the situation even harder.
Maybe a family member used your Social Security number to apply for credit. Maybe your spouse or parent opened a credit card in your name without your permission. You may not discover the problem until you check your credit report, apply for a loan, or receive a collection notice for a debt you do not recognize.
Whatever the situation, do not ignore the problem simply because the person responsible is someone you know. Unauthorized accounts can affect your credit and may continue causing problems until you take steps to address them.
This guide explains what you can do after discovering that a family member stole your identity, including steps for protecting your credit and addressing fraudulent information on your credit reports.
Can a Family Member Steal Your Identity?
Yes. Identity theft does not have to involve a stranger.
A person may use identifying information without permission to open an account, make purchases, or obtain other benefits. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) directs consumers who believe someone has stolen their identity to IdentityTheft.gov to report what happened and receive a recovery plan.
A family member may have access to information that makes identity theft possible, including your:
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Previous addresses
- Bank information
- Credit card information
- Driver’s license information
- Online account information
For example, you may discover that a parent opened a credit card using your information. A spouse may apply for a loan without telling you. An ex-spouse may continue using information they learned while you were together.
Knowing the person who did it does not mean you should ignore the damage.
My Family Member Used My Social Security Number. What Should I Do?
If a family member used your Social Security number without permission, first find out how your information was used.
Check for unfamiliar:
- Credit cards
- Loans
- Collection accounts
- Bank accounts
- Addresses
- Credit inquiries
- Utility accounts
- Phone accounts
You should also review your credit reports. The FTC recommends regularly reviewing your reports to identify new fraud quickly. You can access your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized website for obtaining free credit reports.
If you find accounts or other information that you believe resulted from identity theft, keep a record of everything you find.
What If My Spouse or Parent Opened a Credit Card in My Name?
This situation can be confusing because the person responsible may be very close to you.
But there is an important difference between being an authorized user or agreeing to an account and having someone use your information to open an account without your permission.
If your spouse or parent opened a credit card in your name without your authorization, gather as much information as possible about the account.
Write down:
- The creditor’s name
- Account number
- Date the account was opened
- Balance
- Payment history
- Where the account appears on your credit reports
- Any collection agencies associated with the debt
Save letters, emails, credit reports, account statements, and other documents related to the account.
Avoid throwing documents away after you believe the issue has been resolved. Keeping a clear paper trail can be important if the fraudulent information appears again or a credit bureau does not correct your report.
Report the Identity Theft to the FTC
One of the most useful resources for identity theft victims is the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov.
You can report what happened and receive a personalized recovery plan. The FTC says the site can also provide pre-filled letters and forms for credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors and help you track your recovery steps.
Your FTC Identity Theft Report can also become important when dealing with fraudulent information on your credit reports.
Be accurate when completing your report. Explain what happened and identify the accounts or transactions you did not authorize.
Check All Three Credit Reports
Do not assume that an account appearing on one credit report will appear exactly the same way on the others.
Review your reports from:
Look beyond the account that first alerted you to the problem.
A family member who had access to your personal information may have used it more than once. Look for unfamiliar accounts, inquiries, balances, collections, and personal information.
Keep copies of the reports you review. It can also be helpful to save copies showing the fraudulent information before it is removed.
Consider Freezing Your Credit
A credit freeze can make it harder for someone to open additional accounts using your information.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a security freeze prevents prospective creditors from accessing your credit file. Because creditors typically need access to a credit report before opening an account, a freeze can help prevent new-account identity theft.
Credit freezes are free.
You generally need to contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion separately to freeze your reports. A freeze also does not stop every type of identity theft. For example, the CFPB warns that it does not prevent someone from taking over an existing account.
What If the Identity Theft Is Already on Your Credit Report?
This is where the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, becomes especially important.
Federal law provides a process for blocking information on a consumer report that resulted from identity theft.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2, a consumer reporting agency generally must block qualifying identity-theft information within four business days after receiving the required materials. Those materials include appropriate proof of identity, an identity theft report, identification of the fraudulent information, and a statement that the information does not relate to a transaction by the consumer.
The CFPB provides a simpler explanation of the process. It says identity theft victims can ask credit reporting companies to block fraudulent information by providing:
- An identity theft report
- Proof of identity
- A letter identifying the fraudulent debts and information
The CFPB also points consumers to IdentityTheft.gov for a sample letter.
There are exceptions to the blocking requirement, so the facts of each situation matter.
What If I Don’t Want to Get My Family Member in Trouble?
This may be one of the hardest parts of family-member identity theft.
You may love the person responsible. You may depend on them financially. They may be your parent, child, spouse, sibling, or former partner. You may worry about what will happen if you formally report what they did.
Those concerns are understandable, but doing nothing can leave fraudulent debts connected to your name.
You also should not lie about what happened or provide false information to a credit bureau, creditor, the FTC, police, or anyone else.
Before deciding how to proceed, consider speaking with a consumer protection attorney about your specific situation. An attorney can explain your rights and help you understand the credit-reporting issues involved without requiring you to guess about the consequences of different options.
What If the Credit Bureau Doesn’t Remove the Fraudulent Account?
Sometimes the biggest problem starts after the identity theft is discovered.
You may report the account and provide supporting documents, only to find that:
- The account remains on your credit report.
- The information is removed and later reappears.
- A credit bureau says the account was verified.
- A creditor continues reporting the account as yours.
- The same fraudulent information appears on another credit report.
- A collection agency continues pursuing the debt.
The CFPB states that consumers can submit a complaint when they experience a problem with credit reporting. Its identity theft guidance also explains the process for requesting that fraudulent information be blocked.
If you have followed the proper steps and identity-theft information continues appearing on your credit report, consider speaking with an attorney who handles FCRA and credit reporting matters, like Vullings Law Group.
Keep Detailed Records
Create a folder for everything connected to the identity theft.
Keep copies of:
- Credit reports
- FTC Identity Theft Report
- Letters sent to credit bureaus
- Dispute or blocking requests
- Account statements
- Emails
- Collection letters
- Responses from creditors
- Responses from credit bureaus
- Delivery confirmations
- Notes from phone calls
For phone calls, record the date, company, person you spoke with, and what was discussed.
Good records can make it much easier to understand what happened and what steps you have already taken.
You Still Have Rights When the Identity Thief Is a Relative
Learning that a family member stole your identity can bring financial problems and difficult personal decisions at the same time.
Whether a family member used your Social Security number, your spouse or parent opened a credit card in your name, or another relative created fraudulent debt, you do not have to simply accept inaccurate information on your credit report.
Start by documenting what happened. Review your credit reports. Report the identity theft. Protect your credit from additional fraud. Then pay close attention to whether fraudulent accounts and debts continue to be reported.
If credit bureaus or other companies continue reporting identity-theft information after you have taken steps to correct the problem, our attorneys can review what happened and explain whether you may have rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
