Am I a victim of Identity Theft? Questions to ask yourself if your believe you are a victim of Identity theft.

Please Note

• The questions will be based on date(s) / ownership/ underwriters/ mixed files.
• It’s recommended that you ask yourself these questions before deeming the activity fraudulent.
• You can also review your credit report to verify the information being reported is correct.   

 Information

• Questions to ask yourself about possible account ownership:
• Have you opened up any accounts recently?
• Could the possible fraud activity in question be in relation to these types of accounts ( Authorized User(s) / Co-signer/ Joint)?
• Could the activity be associated with a family, friend, or spouse’s account? Have you cosigned or listed as an authorized user for anyone else?
• Have you requested or made changes to any of your existing accounts? Such as lower interest rates, credit limit increases, special credit card programs (rewards program), or balance transfers?
• Questions to ask yourself about the established date(s):
• What date did you receive notice of the activity?
• Have you applied for credit or do you recall opening an account within this timeframe?
• Have you recently applied for credit such as (a mortgage loan, auto loan, or insurance) these can generate multiple inquiries.
• Underwriter
• Often most alerts can display the 3rd party/underwriter’s name instead of the company name you initially started business with.  
• Have you made changes such as refinancing, applying for a new mortgage, or requesting a credit line increase? 
• Are there any transitions/ changes happening within your current mortgage company? (ex. Change in lenders).
• Multiple / Mixed File 
• Is there anyone in your household that has the same name or a similar name to yours?  
• Clerical errors can occur which happens when paper records are entered into a computer.
• Data is sometimes entered manually and is also aggregated in mass quantities. ‍
• Items could appear on your public record that belong to an individual with a Social Security number that is 1 digit different than yours. (usually, a typo while being uploaded into the system).

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