Let’s say you learn that an identity thief took out credit in your name, pretending to be you. To straighten it out, you might want to get records about the identity theft from the company where it happened. The law gives you that right — in fact, it’s Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Having details about the theft and the thief may help you show, for example, that the thief borrowed money, not you. It also may help you or law enforcement identify the thief. You or law enforcement might need, for example, the identity thief’s bank account number or their contact information to document the crime or clear your name.
To get information related to your identity theft, send your request in writing to the company where the fraud took place. They have 30 days to give you those records, free of charge. Along with your request, send these three things:
- Proof of your identity, like a copy of your driver’s license or other valid form of identification
- A completed FTC Identity Theft Report from IdentityTheft.gov.
- A police report about the identity theft from your local police department. When you file the police report, bring your ID, the FTC Identity Theft Report, and any information you have about the incident with you.
IdentityTheft.gov has more resources to help you recover from identity theft, including a sample letter to use as you take steps to fix problems the theft may have caused. If you have problems getting the records from banks and lenders, let the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) know.
If you own a business, read Businesses Must Provide Victims and Law Enforcement with Transaction Records Relating to Identity Theft for more information about complying with the law.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
- We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
- We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
- We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
- We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
This page should be in a printable format.
In reply to This page should be in a… by Katherine Carleton
The page will print out with the title and date of the blog. Enter a print command on your keyboard and it will print out on the printer that's connected to your computer.
In reply to This page should be in a… by Katherine Carleton
Hear Hear!
I don't know how to do this my credit dropped 11 points I don't know why then I checked credit wise it shows it is in the dark Wed I didn't know what it is and I asked how I could get it out and stop it from being used
ITs really a good feeling to know there are resources to help if this happens. I was unfortunate enough to be part of the Experian hack and its very nerve racking.
Hopefully when someone forgets which agency to contact that you will be available to direct us to the right place.
I have been getting emails saying I purchased something and if I wish to cancel call a number I refuse to call because I know what I purchase one was from geek squad and the other on was from pay pal which I don't have
In reply to I have been getting emails… by Jennifer Brooks
I get the same kind of emails. But what start to do is I don’t answer and I block the sender from sending anymore emails to me.
Or if is on a text I block the number.
Do you also have resources to help the ivictim of equity theft?
All great information to know! Thank you for getting it out online. We are never too old to learn something new!
P.S. Beware of cleaning people who are practicing your signature! It happens! Keep your personal records and checkbook hidden. Make certain all numbered checks are intact.
Are the adults in household responsible for identity theft as well?
I reported identity theft and we got the guy but he stole all my data I know where it is the virzon cloud and Google one cloud...I'm trying to get my life back I wanna exsist in the real world I have a new phone provider and Gmail account that hast been hacked..
Add new comment