There are several important steps to take if you suspect you have been a victim of identity theft in Maryland. The Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack frequently assists clients whose identities have been stolen in cleaning up their credit reports and filing lawsuits against Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, sometimes on a fee shifting basis that allows us to represent clients without needing to charge them.
Here are the steps to take after you realize you may have become a victim of identity theft:
1. Contact businesses that you know have been defrauded using your information and ask for fraud department to try to get them to stop attempting to collect from you.
2. Pull your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com to check for additional fraudulent accounts or reports that need to be addressed. Until April of 2022, every consumer is entitled to one free credit report from each of Experian, TransUnion and Equifax through annualcreditreport.com each week, so there is no harm in doing this. Here is a video on how to pull your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com:
3. Ask one of Experian, TransUnion or Equifax to place a fraud alert on your account so new fraudulent activity by the person who stole your identity will be less likely to succeed. Asking one of these credit reporting agencies for a fraud alert triggers a duty to notify the other two.
4. Change all of your passwords. Use different passwords for different sites. Try not to write the passwords down in an easy to locate spot, because that could help someone who finds that list to steal your identity.
5. Prepare and file an FTC Identity Theft Report, and save a copy for your records. This step will both help the Federal Trade Commission keep track of trends in identity theft, but also save you a lot of time regarding the next step – filing a police report.
6. File a police report that is sworn under oath. Unfortunately, this step is needed in addition to filing an FTC Identity Theft Report, because the Fair Credit Reporting Act only provides additional protection where a victim of identity theft provides a statement to law enforcement under oath. When you go to give the police statement, provide them with a copy of the FTC’s Memorandum to Law Enforcement regarding the importance of a sworn police report. You should bring a copy of your FTC Identity Theft Report as well to expedite the process.
7. Write a certified letter request blocks of fraudulent information. Once you have identified the fraudulent entries on your credit report and have a copy of your sworn police report, you can request from each of Experian, TransUnion and Equifax that they block the fraudulent information on their credit report for you. In order to request a block, you have to provide 1) proof of your identity, 2) a copy of the sworn police report, 3) identification of the fraudulent entry on your credit report, and 4) a statement that the information is fraudulent and does not relate to any actual transaction by you. Here is a sample letter requesting the block. The credit reporting agency (Experian, TransUnion or Equifax) then has fifteen days to accept the request, and four additional business days to block the information, unless they determine that the account is not fraudulent or the request to block was deficient. The block effectively clears the fraudulent information from your credit report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act leaves narrow circumstances where a credit reporting agency can refuse to block information, but unfortunately, Experian, TransUnion and Equfax often defer to the business that is providing the false information and refuse to block the fraudulent information. If that occurs, you may have a strong case against whichever of Experian, TransUnion and Equifax refused to provide the block, as well as the business that is providing the fraudulent information to the credit reporting agencies. Please contact the Law Offices of Joseph S. Mack if you’ve had a request to block false information refused, as we can represent you in any lawsuit necessary to get the information removed and recover damages, often using fee-shifting to allow us to represent you without you needing to pay us to represent you.
For more information on what to do if you believe you have become a victim of identity theft, see the FTC’s checklist. If you would like help from a lawyer, please fill out the form below.