I had a roommate that stole among other things, a dulicate drivers licence I had in my drawer and forgot. I thought I lost it, and then got a new one and found the old one but never cut the old one up. He used it to get a credit card in my name. I reported it, got a police report and all, but nothing the police can do without proof. They have not even called or anything back about the case, and its been months. They give me a run around saying that they are busy with lots of cases and I cant reach anyone.
Now, I am also getting letters from multiple Libraries saying that things are checked out and not returned. I know it is this person, from the items that are checked out and fthat the city is where he lives now and I dont live there. I called the libraries and had them cancel the cards but there is nothing they can do to catch him. They dont make a copy of the actual ID when they give you a library card, they only write the account # down. So he must have altered the ID with his photo, since he is much taller then me and looks NOTHING like me.
Now I have a collections letter from Unique National Collections, saying I owe over 200.00. No phone number or anything to contact them.
I dont know what to do. Cant I sue the librarys for allowing this person to use a obviously false ID? Or sending me to collections after I called them to cancel the cards and provided a police report # to them as proof? I also called the police in that city to make a report about ID theft. I have flags on my credit report but I dont know if this agency posted to my credit report because I dont have a free report anymore.
What to do?
Hi Michael,
You are absolutely right. This is an instance of identity theft. Now that you have become a victim of id theft, you have to do certain things ASAP.
Place fraud alert
Review your credit report and place a fraud alert on it. By placing a fraud alert on your credit report, you can stop the thief from getting any more accounts in your name. To be able to do this you can give a call to any of the 3 credit reporting agencies. The following are the numbers of the agencies:
Once you do this, you can demand a free credit report from the reporting agencies. After getting hold of the report, check through the information properly to find out if there is anything listed, which you do not owe. Inform about this to the reporting agencies and send a copy of the id theft report with a cover letter stating the issue nicely. Do check your reports regularly.
Close your account
Close the account which you think have been used by the thief ASAP. Call and write a letter to the credit card companies or the banks. Let them know about the theft and attach any documents to prove the fact. If the thief has used any of your existing accounts, then ask the representative to send you a fraud dispute form. If the thief has opened new accounts, then you have to provide a copy of the id theft report with the police to the company.
File complaint with the FTC
You need to file an id theft complaint with the FTC. You can use the online id theft form or the hot line number: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338).
Finally you need to file a complaint with the local law enforcement body, which you have already done.