Is there any true way to prove you are a victim of identity thief to a collection agency?
917214
I would need more details to give a good answer.\n\nBut lets just assume this is a typical "identity fraud" case.  All you really need is a police report that your ID was stolen, and a signed and notarized affidavit saying it's not your debt.  Most courts would then require the burden of proof be placed on the creditor to show it's your debt (they better have a signature).  If they prove it, then you are in huge trouble for filing a false police report plus purgery for lying to the court.\n\nThe collection agency is bluffing you.  They don't have any signature, no signed contract, no proof of purchases.  They probably have nothing more then a slip of paper from the creditor saying you owe them money.  \n\nSend the collection agency a "demand to validate" letter, and demand that you get signed contracts, bills, receipts, and everything they used to calculate what they claim you owe.  \n\nIf this is really a case of identity theft, file that police report, and start identity fraud procedures.
678347
Don't panic....just follow my instructions and you will get through it.\n\nIdentity theft is a huge crime now, and all of the major credit reporting companies have already set up programs to deal with it.\n\nYour first step is visit the FTC's website and read the file they created about ID Theft (see the link below).  \n\nGenerally, the procedure goes like this:\n\nNotify the police and get a police report.  Note the police won't do anything about it...no investigation or anything.  Doesn't matter, you need to have a police report made to protect yourself.  So INSIST that your local police give you one...even if it's just an "incident report".\n\nNotify one of the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) and inform them you are the victim of identity theft.  They will in turn contact the other Credit agencies.  All three will place an ID Theft Victim flag on your report, with instructions to contact you in the event someone tries to get credit in your name.\n\nContact the creditor who gave the loan and inform him it's not your loan.  You may have to supply a copy of the police report, plus a signed and notorized affidavid stating that the debt is not yours.  Go to the link below to get it.\n\nDo this NOW!  ID thieves are like cockroaches.  When you start seeing a problem, it's usually a whole lot worse and you have to begin fighting it.  They may have lots of other loans out there.  You only know about them when the collectors start to come after you.\n\nGood luck, contact me if you need help.  I've been there, and have helped many others fix their problems.
956528
You can contact you local police department, however, this type of fraud is on the rise and it is very hard to trace. The best thing to do is not give the person ANY of your information.
592117
1. Report it to the police\n2. Place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting the following:\n\nEquifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241\nExperian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013\nTransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 \n\n3. If there is need to worry, close credit card, bank accounts, etc.
889320
Yes, I have helped many, many people do this.  First know that the bureau must verify any debt you dispute.  If they can not verify it, it must be deleted.  They have 30 days to do this.\n\nWith 7 years in the credit business, I recommend disputing them all at the same time, as you will likely need to go through several rounds of letters to get what you want done. If something is blatently wrong with your credit report, call the bureau after they write back and refuse to remove it. Go up the food chain until a manager agrees to remove or amend the incorrect info on the spot. Don't buy into their speach about re-disputing it - but make sure you have provided the information necessary by mail already to correct the error. It will not help you to insist on something being removed if you have not provided verificaiton on why.\n\nWhen you mail in the dispute letter, mail in as much information as possible with it. If your verification is a bankruptcy, send in all the pages to your petition and tab the important pages for them to review.\n\nAlso mail in a copy of an electric bill and a copy of your ID to avoid any delays. See the FTC web's site for your specific rights with collectors and debt reporting:\n\nhttp://www.ftc.gov/\n\nIf your problem is directly with the creditors, write to them ONE time. If they do not remove incorrect information, write to your state's attorney general's office and the FTC. This will get you the results you seek if you are in the right.\n\nIf this is a collection agency problem, write to the same people plus the ACA at www.acainternational.org. Collection agencies are generally slime, so know your rights before you call them. See your rights here:\n\nhttp://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/index.html\n\nIf you have legit items that are bad, dispute them also. If they can not be verified, they must be deleted. It is not your responsibility to prove they are inaccurate, it is the credit bureaus who must demonstrate they are.\n\nHope this helps!
760990
Contact the credit bureaus and tell them you believe your ID was stolen - they'll put a hold on your credit report so if anyone tries to access it, you will be informed. You only need to contact one of the three - they automatically contact each other.\n\nAlso obtain a free copy of your credit report - the government requires you be given a copy once a year on request. You cannot be charged for this service. (See the link below). It's a good idea to do this anyway, even if you haven't had your ID stolen. \n\nBEWARE of services that advertise a 'free report' in exchange for signing up to some monitoring or other service - these are NOT free reports, you'll have to pay.\n\nWhen you get the report, check if anything looks suspicious - accounts you haven't opened for example. If there is any such activity, contact your local police and the credit report company.\n\nPeople search and other such services use public records - just as you could do - to find information about people. These include court and state/federal records that must be released under the freedom of information laws. However, certain information, such as your social security number, may not be made available under penalty of law.\n\nPLEASE NOTE: If you are concerned about using the website listed below, go to http://www.firstgov.gov and search for "free credit report". You will get a link to the annual credit report site from there (All sites ending in .gov are federal government sites so can be trusted). For more information, see the government link below.
301867
doing this myself. you wait about a week. depending how far you mail the affidavit. call the collections agency. ussually they send you a letter in the mail conforming and notifying you that they wil be taking it off your credit report. but you can still call and they should have in there records the staus of your affidavit. sometimes they need more information like a police report. need more help ask me. i am dealing with it my self. real big headache huh
95145
You need to dispute it in WRITING. A phone call will not be of any legal help at all. Also, file a police report about recieving unsolicited material. You could be the victim of identity theft.
1170106
Probably a consumer attorney.  You might not need one, however.  Go to www.ftc.gov and look up the link to "consumers" and then look up info on identity theft and how to repair it.  You should also order your credit report (for free) from the 3 major agencies and the FTC site will show you how to do that.  Your credit report will show if someone has obtained credit in your name because you will see opened accounts there that you didn't know about.  Hopefully, there is nothing serious.
923136
This same thing happened to me once and here is what you do:\nSend them a CERTIFIED LETTER that proves that they personally signed for. This only costs 60 cents.\nTell them in the letter they have left the stuff for so many days and now you are giving them TEN DAYS to inform you that they are making an attempt to make arrangements to pick up the stuff or it will be disposed of.\nThen they can't sue you.
507875
You, personally can't find this out. It is confidential. If the person is suspected of fraud, you should report it to the agency, and let them handle it from there.
143748
Aside from the need/ability for you to secure new credit accounts for future purchases, an identity thief can also wreck your life in other significant ways:\n\n1) Generate a criminal record in your name\n2) File bankruptcy or have liens placed against your name\n3) Transfer your electrical power & gas utility accounts to another location - in the dead of winter when you may need it most!\n\nGenerally, the identity thief can wreck your live in any number of ways which you (as the victim) get to pay the fines and legal expenses - while in an increasing amount of times lose your job.\n\nThe damage control can take years to un-do.\n\nYour choice is to attempt to control your personal information and thus control your future!\n\nHere's just a single example of what can happen\nto you by not being diligent against identity theft.\n(see sources)
279350
Call the Social Security Administration and report it as "lost or stolen".\n\nYou can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to verify the\naccuracy of the earnings reported on your SSN, and to\nrequest a copy of your Social Security Statement or to\nget a replacement SSN card if yours is lost or stolen.\n\nPlus, make sure the SSA has your current address so\nyou can recieve the regularly mailed statements of\nbenefits accrued under your name (see sources for add'l. contact information).
1094139
Every welfare and food stamp office has a fraud unit.  Just call your local office and they will direct you to their fraud unit.  Also, it takes time for them to verify the suspected fraud, be patient.  Also, they will contact you for further details if needed.  I had to report someone too.  It took almost a year but they got caught!
114947
Besides filing a police report, you may also consider the following resources below in the sources section of this reply.\n\nThe Internet Crime Complaint Center is sponsored in part by the FBI.\n\nAlso, the FTC is the primary govt. watchdog for identity theft and maintains a database of id theft claims which will help you.\n\nFinally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains and issues social security numbers (ssn) and would need to be notified directly as well.
11283
Identity theft is illegal:\nhttp://www.insuremyhouse.com/identitytheft.html
1107269
I would check your credit report.  I would put a fraud alert on your credit report.  What that does is, if anything is opened under your name, the credit bureau's contact you first.