Someone opened a credit card in my name — what to do
Finding an account you never opened on your credit report is alarming — but the law is on your side. Move fast and document everything. The bureaus and the lender have specific duties under federal law, and ignoring them creates a lawsuit.
Step 1: Place a fraud alert and freeze your credit
Call one of the three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion) and request a fraud alert — they're required to notify the other two. Then place a security freeze with each bureau separately. Both are free.
Step 2: File an FTC identity-theft report
Go to IdentityTheft.gov and complete the report. Print the FTC Identity Theft Report — it's your golden ticket. The FCRA gives that document special legal weight: bureaus and creditors have to block fraudulent items based on it.
Step 3: File a police report
Not every department takes these, but try. A police report plus the FTC report is the strongest combo for forcing removal.
Step 4: Dispute the account in writing — with the bureaus AND the lender
Send a written dispute (certified mail, return receipt) to each bureau reporting the account, and to the lender that opened it. Include:
- Your FTC Identity Theft Report.
- The police report, if you have one.
- A clear statement that the account is fraudulent and was not opened by you.
- A request that the account be blocked under FCRA §605B and that the lender stop furnishing the data.
Step 5: Demand the application and signature
The FCRA gives you the right to request copies of the application and transaction records on a fraudulent account. The lender has 30 days to provide them. This usually exposes the fraud — wrong address, wrong signature, IP address you've never used.
When this becomes a lawsuit
- The bureau "verifies" the account anyway after you sent the FTC report.
- The lender keeps reporting the account as yours.
- The bureau removes it, then it reappears months later ("re-aging").
- A collector starts calling about the fraudulent debt.
Each of those is its own FCRA violation. Statutory damages, actual damages (denied credit, higher rates, emotional distress), punitive damages, and attorney's fees are all on the table — paid by the defendant if you win.
What to send a lawyer
- Your three credit reports from annualcreditreport.com.
- The FTC Identity Theft Report.
- Copies of every dispute letter and every response.
- Any denial letters, rate quotes, or rental rejections tied to the fraud.
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