If you are a victim of identity theft and an account was opened with your information without your knowledge and a bank, credit card company or other business is saying you owe money on that account, you may have a strong case under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”).  Joseph Mack handles cases under the FCRA for clients in Maryland and Florida. We offer no-cost consultations for FCRA matters and if we provide representation, there is no fee unless you win.  We can do this because of fee-shifting under the FCRA, which means that a prevailing consumer is entitled to their reasonable attorneys’ fees. You can read more about fee-shifting here.

Do I owe on Account Opened by Identity Thief?

Often, an identity thief will use a victim’s stolen information to open an account in their name and purchase goods and services. Under Florida and Maryland law, the person whose information was used by an identity thief to open the account without their knowledge is almost never financially responsible for that account – that responsibility lies with the banks, credit card companies and other businesses that didn’t do a close enough check to make sure they weren’t dealing with an identity thief before sending them money.

What Should I Do If I Find Out an Identity Thief Opened an Account Using My Information?

First, you should contact the fraud department of the company where the account was opened and explain the situation, providing them with any information that they request.  Here are some additional steps to consider if you have been victimized by identity theft.

Unfortunately, sometimes a bank, credit card company or other business will deny your identity theft dispute, claiming that you still owe on the account.  If you’ve contacted fraud department for the company and they are still saying that you owe on the account, please contact us for a free consultation regarding how to use the Fair Credit Reporting Act to get the false information removed or to sue to keep it off of your credit reports.