Identity Fraud advice

[macca]

Hi All,

Looking for a bit of advice on this one please, I hope I've posted it in the right forum!

My girlfriend has just found out that her ex from about 3 years ago has been taking out credit in her name. As she used to live at his flat, where he still lives, I assume he knew all the necessary details and has taken out several things in her name.

The first she knew was when this week trying to apply for credit they put it on hold due to a lot of credit in her name at a different address. She has spoken to Equifax who seemed quite helpful and are sending her a breakdown of her credit report so she can see what, when and how much.

Now, the first thing I said was to phone the police as surely this is quite a bad cause of identity fraud?

Unfortunately it seems he may have even used her bank account to make some of the payments, but she did not really check it properly enough to notice the extra payments going out. She thinks this could be a contributing factor to her unexpectedly low bank balance.

Can anybody advise us on the best course of action to take? We want to get this sorted as quickly and legally as possible, and make sure he gets what is coming to him.

Many thanks in advance,

Mark.

[Guest]

Re: Identity Fraud advice

Contact the police and make a formal complaint if you believe that money has gone missing. It should be easy to check, the bank can send copy statements for example.

This really is the first thing you should do.

[Jester]

Re: Identity Fraud advice

Cet is right. Her ex would appear to have committed offences of fraud and misrepresentation.

As to whether you get the money back, well that will depend on the financial organisations involved and the police. The financial organisation will want a full report from the police. If it can be proved that everything happened without her knowledge then you will 'probably' get the money back, but they are not obliged to do this. They will have insurance against this type of thing too and it should be covered by that.

Unfortunately ID Fraud is still a tenuous area despite its proliferation. The main problem might be how long the fraud was going on before you realised it. However, the police themselves may be able to advise you on this as many forces have specialist ID Fraud Teams nowadays, as do many of the banks.

Doesn't matter how well versed you are on ID Fraud, it is still possible to get caught out. It happened to me 18 months ago when my credit card company noticed 'unusual' transactions on my account (i.e. a proliferation of spending on gambling sites like Ladbroke - I don't gamble). Their investigations (which involved the Police) eventually uncovered the fact that my card had been cloned (and there is any number of ways this could have happened). In my case it was sorted out and all monies returned.

In fairness, most of the financial organisations recognise this as a growing problem and are usually sympathetic about it.

Go to the police first and then the financial organisation(s) involved. Ensure that all interested parties are aware that it is now in the hands of the police. Keep a dialogue open and I suspect they will help you a lot (police AND the financial organisations).

[Paule]

Re: Identity Fraud advice

Hi there

Have a read through this thread

Identity Theft and How to Prevent it - Legal Beagles

First Things First

If you're a victim of identity theft, the very first thing to do is contact the police and make a report. Having that crime reference number is a vital preliminary step, proving to banks, credit card companies and others that you've begun to take action.

Change all the passwords on your computer. Don't use the same password for everything, and make it a mix of letters and numbers. Make sure you have a good firewall and virus protection (you can get both for free online, although make sure you do your research first). Run full scans and update your anti virus regularly - daily is best. This may prove to be bolting the stable door after the horse has gone, but it will help eliminate any repetitions.

Next

Contact everyone with whom you do financial business. That's not simply your bank and credit card companies, but all your direct debits, loans and creditors. Contact them in writing, quoting your crime reference number. Keep copies of all your correspondence, along with careful notes of all conversations on the matter (include time and date). Cancel your credit cards, changing account numbers, and the same applies to your bank accounts.

You also need to write to the credit reference agencies. Request a copy of your credit file (it costs £2), and challenge all items that don't seem correct. Inform them that you've been a victim of identity theft and have a fraud alert placed on your account.

You can check the status of your credit rating with any one of a number of Credit Reference Agencies.

It's possible that whoever stole your identity has committed crimes whilst posing as you. When contacting the police, have them check your criminal record and see that any false convictions are erased. This may involve being photographed or fingerprinted and possibly hiring an attorney, but it's worth the effort. Additionally, contact the Passport Service and the DVLA.

If you suspect you're not receiving your post, make sure you're in touch with the Royal Mail. They have a unit to investigate suspected mail theft and can check to see if a redirection order has been placed on your address.

You should also register with CIFAS Protective Registration Service. You can place a registration with the not-for-profit on your own address when you have reason to believe you're a victim of fraud.

Be Prepared to Put in the Time

You won't reverse the damage caused by identity theft overnight. It's going to take months of work and letter writing. However, don't be discouraged. You will get yourself back, and as the crime becomes more prevalent, steps are being taken to speed up the process. It's a scary, often nightmarish time, but you will come out the other side intact.

PKea

[macca]

Brilliant, thanks for the pointers guys. We went to the Police station last night and had a chat but they want us to get her Credit Report first and get fine details of all the things that aren't right, then they'll take it from there.

We had a quick look at her credit report last night and although the one we got doesn't show any finance that shouldn't be there, there are some addresses and aliases on there that have absolutely nothing to do with her and that she's never heard of. One address was in Lancs and we live in East Sussex, very strange.

There's also quite a few cases of her previous address (about 2.5-3 years ago and never registered there on official records) still being flagged up by organisations. We've sent an e-mail to the Credit Reference Agency querying all of these things so hopefully we'll get an explanation back soon.

[WendyB]

Re: Identity Fraud advice

Unfortunately it seems he may have even used her bank account to make some of the payments, but she did not really check it properly enough to notice the extra payments going out. She thinks this could be a contributing factor to her unexpectedly low bank balance.

.

Contact the bank and check out any d/ds which are not supposed to be there, and cancel them straight away if there are any. Also get the bank to issue her a new debit card, and cancel the old one, this would stop him using her card details. It might be worth asking the bank to give her a new account number as well, then he won't be able to use the details of it again..

[macca]

Re: Identity Fraud advice

Great advice everybody, many many thanks