Filing a Police Report for Identity Theft
Finding out you have fallen victim to identity theft can be a scary thing to go through. There are a lot of steps that need to be taken in the recovery process and one of those is filing a police report. A police report when referenced to identity theft is known as an Identity Theft Report. This report can be provided to the three credit reporting agencies when you report your identity theft to them.
What a Police Report Does
By filing an Identity Theft Report you can permanently block any fraudulent information from reporting on your credit reports during the recovery process. This type of information can include accounts, addresses, and balances. A police report will also ensure that these fraudulent debts never recur on your credit report either. The Identity Theft Report will also prohibit collection agencies and creditors from continuing to collect on debts that occurred through fraudulent activity and they will be prohibited from selling them to third party collection agencies as well. A consumer will also be able to apply for an extended fraud alert with their Identity Theft Report.
Having a filed police report will be a helpful document in the event a consumer needs to take creditors to court or in the event creditors sue the consumer for fraudulent debts. By having a police report, the consumer can get copies of applications, statements and other documents that were used to open up the fraudulent accounts.
Do I Need a Police Report?
In the event you are able to resolve the identity theft incident quickly and the dispute has been resolved with the creditor, then the consumer does not need to file a police report. In the event an identity thief has opened new accounts and created fraudulent charges under your name, then you will need to file an Identity Theft Report with your local police department.
How to File
If you need to file a police report, it is suggested that you first file an ID Theft Complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission. Specific details are needed in order to file a police report and the ID Theft Complaint form will contain that information needed. Keep several copies of your ID Theft Complaint form and give one copy to your local police department when you file your report with them.