Victim of Identity Theft, what are my options.?
Last year my phone number, SSN and email address information was leaked onto the dark web and I am still trying to deal with the fall-out from it but I have hit a wall and I dont know what else I can do.
I have filed a report with the FTC, I have an affidavit and I have put a fraud alert on all of my credit reports. When I realized what was happening i purchased Identity Theft protection and I have more alerts about my info being on the dark web than I can count.
While this was happening somebody opened a credit card with a $2500 limit and they spent like $900, I only found out because I received the bill. I have contacted them multiple times, I have sent the all of the documentation that I mentioned, I sent them a letter provided by the FTC. They gave me another affidavit that I filled out and had notarized . Despite that they are killing my credit score because they are reporting the missed payments, they refuse to do anything about it.
Should I consider taking legal action.
Answers & Comments
The entire system is unfair and corrupt. Hire a lawyer to handle it. Some victims are turning to suing the companies that damage their credit for defamation. I think we need to ban the credit bureaus and make companies that pursue victims liable for the victim's expenses. If we did that, big business would find a solution.
I have a friend who has been arrested multiple times because the identity thief has a drivers license in his name and gets tickets and skips court dates. It seems no one can help him stop it.
Content your Identity Theft Protection company and ask for advice.
file ID theft report with local police. then you look for a class action suit against the lender who refuses to take proper action ...
You need to contest the account with the credit bureaus.
Honestly, its very difficult to take legal action in these cases. The dark web is only accessible through specially encrypted connections that make it impossible for anyone to track them. So its possible to catch the person at the end of the fraud chain, because there will be a paper trial of things they've purchased using the card they created in your name, but you'll never catch the people they bought the information from, so you'll never fully plug the leak. All you can do is flag as many accounts as possible so that any time someone tries to open a credit card using your name, an automated warning comes up advising the signing agent of your previous identity theft.