What to do when someone opens credit in your name
Finding something on your credit report that doesn’t belong to you is unsettling, but in most cases, it can be fixed. Here’s what to do now, and how we can help.
Unsure if you have fraudulent items on your report? Find out now
Freeze your credit
A freeze stops anyone from opening new accounts in your name. It's free, easy to do yourself, and it doesn't affect your score. The best way to do this is directly with the bureaus:
Change your passwords
Start with your email and bank accounts and turn on two-step verification wherever you can.
Scan the dark web
Don't assume the account that you found on your report is the only one. If someone has your Social Security number, they can open accounts with any lender, and you won't hear about it until it hits your report.
When companies get hacked, the stolen information often ends up on the dark web, a hidden part of the internet where personal data is bought and sold. When you sign up with The Credit Pros, we scan the dark web for your Social Security number, email address, and phone number, so you know what's already out there.
File an identity theft report
Go to IdentityTheft.gov (opens in a new tab), the Federal Trade Commission's site, and answer its questions about what happened. It takes about 20 minutes. At the end, you get an official FTC Identity Theft Report and a recovery plan with prefilled letters to send to companies.
This isn't the same as a dispute.
A regular dispute asks the credit bureaus to investigate, which can take up to 30 days.
An identity theft report gives you legal rights a dispute doesn't:
- Blocking.
- Send the report to the credit bureaus with proof of your identity, and they're generally required to block the fraudulent accounts from your report within four business days.
- Records.
- Companies where the thief opened accounts are required to give you copies of the applications and transactions. That can show what information the thief used.
- Seven years of extra protection.
- You can place an extended fraud alert, which tells lenders to contact you and confirm it's really you before they open anything in your name. Without an identity theft report, alerts only last a year.
When you file the report, list each account you didn't open or authorize, one at a time. For each one, include:
- the company name
- the account number, or the last few digits
- the date it was opened, if you know it
- the balance or amount owed
"Someone opened accounts in my name" isn't enough.
If the bureaus can't tell which items to block, they can ask for more information, and that delays the block.
Call your bank and card companies.
If a thief used your existing accounts, report it directly. Your bank or card company has its own fraud process, and acting quickly usually helps you get money back.
File a police report if you need one.
The FTC doesn't investigate individual cases. A police report can get someone looking into it, and some companies or debt collectors may ask for one.
Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN (opens in a new tab).
If your Social Security number is out there, someone could file a tax return in your name. A PIN from the IRS blocks that.
Check your report regularly.
Look again every few months to make sure nothing new has appeared.
Your rights after identity theft
Fraud alerts. Ask one credit bureau for a fraud alert (opens in a new tab) and it has to tell the other two. An initial alert lasts a year, and an identity theft report gets you an extended alert that lasts seven years.
Free credit freezes. Placing and lifting a freeze is free (opens in a new tab) at each of the three bureaus, and you contact each one. While it's on, nobody can open new credit in your name, including you.
Blocking what isn't yours. Once a bureau has your identity theft report, proof of who you are and the items that aren't yours, it generally has to block them within four business days (opens in a new tab).
There are additional options available, but which ones apply to you will depend on your individual history. We'll review your history together to determine which options are most appropriate for your situation.
How we can help
Our free review pulls your credit report and we go through it with you line by line, because the accounts you've found are often not all of them.
Then we walk you through the freezes, run the scan, help you get the report filed so it isn't sent back, and take the fraudulent items to the bureaus and to the companies that reported them.
Check your credit today
We’ll show you exactly what’s on your file so you can identify what belongs to you and what doesn’t.
This is a soft credit pull, so it won’t impact your score.