What Happens to Identity Thieves When You Report Them?
IdentityIQ
Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal identifiable information (PII) fraudulently for their own gain. Fraud can take many forms, and can cause lasting damage to your finances, credit, and even your reputation.
One of the best ways to fight identity theft is to be on the lookout for warning signs and immediately report any instances of fraud you find. But identity theft often goes unreported either because the victim doesn’t realize that a crime has occurred, or because the victim knows the perpetrator and doesn’t want to get them in trouble.
To keep your identity safe, it’s important to understand the consequences of identity theft, know how to help protect yourself from fraud, and take proactive measures to stop crime in its tracks.
Is Identity Theft a Felony?
Identity theft is illegal at the state and federal level. Whether identity theft is considered a misdemeanor or a felony depends on state law and the severity of the crime.
Each state has its own identity theft laws, which often determine whether identity theft is classified as a misdemeanor or a felony based on the value of the benefit obtained through the crime.
To look up your state’s specific laws, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
Should You Report Identity Theft Committed by Someone You Know?
Familiar identity theft occurs when someone you know — such as a family member, spouse or partner, friend, caregiver, or a trusted professional like a legal advisor or a financial advisor — uses your PII to commit fraud.
Reporting a close friend, relative, or associate for identity theft may be emotionally difficult because you don’t want to get people you know in trouble, or you fear negative reactions from your friends or family. However, reporting identity theft is an important step in recovering your identity no matter who committed the crime against you.
Reporting identity theft can help you with the following identity restoration efforts:
- Stopping future crimes from occurring and preventing further negative impact to your credit or finances.
- Reversing unauthorized or fraudulent transactions on your financial accounts.
- Disputing inaccurate items on your credit report and closing fraudulent accounts that were opened in your name.
- Clearing up criminal charges, inaccurate medical records, or other complications that were created as part of the identity theft.
What to Expect When Reporting Identity Theft
The process for reporting identity theft depends on the nature of the crime and the details you can gather about it. But reporting identity theft generally involves some version of the following steps:
- Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission. You can file a report with the FTC. You will have to provide some information to verify your identity and supply information about the crime. The FTC can use this information to provide a recovery plan and give you resources you need to restore your identity.
- File a police report. You can explain your situation to the police and request to file an identity theft report by providing information about yourself and the crime. The police can gather information about the crime and investigate. Ask for a copy of the police report so you can use it to dispute fraud later.
- Report identity theft to relevant agencies or organizations. You may need to notify specific government agencies or organizations about identity theft. For example, if you believe you are a victim of tax identity theft, you will need to report it to the Internal Revenue Service to prevent future tax fraud and get an identity protection PIN that prevents criminals from filing a fake tax return using your Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Or if you believe you are the victim of a Social Security scam, you can report it to the Social Security Administration.
- Report identity theft to the credit bureaus. You should also report identity theft to the major credit bureaus that supply your credit reports. You can place fraud alerts and/or security freezes on your credit reports to help prevent further theft.
- Report and close fraudulent accounts. If fraudulent accounts were opened in your name, report them to the entity where the account was opened. Provide necessary details, request that the accounts be closed, and get written confirmation from the entity about what actions it will take.
The sooner you report identity theft, the sooner you can help prevent future fraud from occurring and get the resources you need to recover from the fraud that already happened. Keep in mind, investigations into identity theft can take time and may require patience.
What are the Potential Consequences for Identity Thieves?
Catching identity theft criminals can be difficult, especially in the case of phishing scams or data breaches, where you never met the perpetrators. But when criminals are caught, the punishment for identity theft depends on the severity of the crime, state or federal laws, and other factors. Sentencing may include fines, restitution in the form of compensation to the victims, and even imprisonment.
What Should You Do if You’re Hesitant to Report Identity Theft?
Reporting identity theft can be a challenging and emotional decision, especially if you know the person who stole your identity. Many people in this situation hesitate, with more than one in ten identity theft survivors choosing not to file a police report.
Reporting someone you know can feel overwhelming and may create difficult personal questions. If you’re facing this dilemma, consider the following to protect yourself and manage the potential consequences:
- File a Civil Suit Instead of Pressing Criminal Charges: If you’re uncomfortable filing criminal charges but still want some form of compensation, you could consider seeking financial restitution through civil courts. This can be a more comfortable option for many people and can help restore your finances if you win in court.
- Prioritize Your Credit and Financial Protection: You can limit negative credit consequences by reporting identity theft to agencies like the FTC and placing a freeze on your credit report. This way, even if you’re not ready to pursue criminal charges, you’re actively protecting yourself from ongoing or additional harm.
By reporting identity theft, you’re not only protecting yourself but potentially preventing the perpetrator from targeting others.
How to Protect Yourself and Your Credit After Identity Theft
Here are some important steps to take to help protect yourself and your credit after identity theft:
- Report the identity theft. Identity theft must be reported to the appropriate authorities, including federal agencies, local law enforcement, and the credit bureaus.
- Alert financial institutions. You can contact your bank, credit card issuer, and other financial institutions where you do business to receive guidance on securing your accounts.
- Place fraud alerts or freeze your credit reports. When you notify the major credit bureaus about identity theft, you can place a fraud alert on your credit reports or freeze them entirely:
- Fraud alerts require businesses to verify your identity before they issue new credit in your name.
- Credit freezes completely restrict access to your credit report, making it impossible for anyone to open new lines of credit in your name. You will need to freeze your credit reports with each credit bureau separately. Whenever you submit a legitimate application for credit, you will have to unfreeze your credit report (you can do this temporarily and place the freeze back after a set amount of time).
- Dispute false information on your credit report. Inaccurate information that resulted from identity theft must be disputed and removed. You can dispute this information with the major credit bureaus, and they will investigate the information and remove it if they determine it to be inaccurate.
- Monitor your credit report. Check your credit report regularly for inaccurate information. Proactive credit report monitoring with services like IdentityIQ provides real-time alerts when new information hits your report, so you can act faster if fraud has occurred.
- Monitor your financial accounts. Review your bank statements, credit card statements, and other financial accounts regularly. Look out for transactions and charges you did not authorize and immediately report anything suspicious.
- Improve security on your existing accounts. Change your passwords frequently, enable two-factor authentication (2FA), and review the security settings on your online accounts.
- Do not make payments on disputed charges. Avoid making payments on any charges you are disputing. If you pay on disputed charges, your bank or financial institution may assume you’re accepting ownership of them. This includesautomatic credit card payments, which should be paused for disputed items. While this might temporarily impact your credit during the dispute process, it’s an important step in disputing fraudulent charges.
IdentityIQ identity restoration specialists can help you recover from identity theft by providing the tools needed to recover your identity and reclaim your life. When identity theft is discovered, your personal case manager creates a custom action plan to help you resolve identity theft issues as quickly as possible.
IdentityIQ also provides ongoing identity protection and monitoring to watch out for future signs of fraud, along with digital protection tools like antivirus software, virtual private networks (VPNs), family internet monitoring tools, and more.
Identity Theft FAQs
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about identity theft.
Is identity theft a felony in the United States?
Identity theft may be treated as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the jurisdiction and the severity of the crime.
Do identity thieves go to jail?
It is difficult to catch identity thieves, especially if the theft involved digital methods such as a phishing scam or data breach. The penalties for identity theft range from fines up to and including imprisonment.
What is a sentence for identity theft?
Sentences for identity theft depend on the severity of the crime and may include fines, financial compensation for the victims, and prison time.
Is identity theft a serious offense?
Identity theft is a serious offense. The consequences get more substantial as the severity of the crime grows.
Can you drop identity theft charges after filing them?
Once you report identity theft, it is generally up to the authorities whether or not to pursue charges with the perpetrator.
Bottom Line – Making the Right Decision for Your Future
It’s best to make decisions that benefit your financial future and help protect you from criminals. This includes reporting identity theft, even when you know the criminal and it could cause difficult situations with people in your life. While reporting identity theft is your choice, not reporting it could have serious, long-lasting consequences that may be difficult to overcome.
Want to proactively protect yourself from identity theft? IdentityIQ can monitor your credit reports and other aspects of your identity, alerting you whenever possible suspicious activity occurs. And if you do become a victim of fraud, our team of dedicated specialists can work with you to create an action plan to clear up your identity and help you take back control of your life.
Don’t leave your financial future up to chance. Get started with IdentityIQ today.
The post What Happens to Identity Thieves When You Report Them? appeared first on IdentityIQ written by Brian Acton
