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What is the priority for addressing credit card application identity theft made in my name?

A "friend", who used to be my boss with access to my ss# and po box address, recently applied for two (2) credit cards in my name. One of the credit card companies – thankfully – called me to verify the application, which I immediately rejected as something I had initiated. When confronted, the individual admitted his actions to me and when asked why he would do such a thing and not mention it to me, stated that he "wanted to help me improve my credit rating". I responded that I already enjoy an excellent 800 credit score and did not need his help. Nevermind all that, I said, you didn't have any authority to submit these fraudulent applications in my name, regardless. His two (2) applications in my name resulted in two "hits" to my credit score. Pissed.

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Attorney answers (2)

Reputation Level 20
Report your "friend" immediately. Please see the link below.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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Avvo Pro

Reputation Level 13
Most victims of identity theft know the identity thief. Many identity thieves are friends or family members of their victim. It is completely understandably that these victims identity theft are reluctant to file a police report against their friend or family member. But this in no way means that the identity theft victim (you) are legally or morally responsible for paying the debts. You are not.

You need to complete a FTC Fraud Affidavit. The FTC identity fraud affidavit can be used to document and communicate facts related to identity theft in order to formally dispute identity fraud and release an identity theft victim’s responsibility for the debt occurred as a result of the identity theft. To ensure a complete documentation and communication of identity fraud cases, a group of credit grantors, consumer advocates, and attorneys at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a document called Identity Theft Affidavit. Although, the identity fraud affidavit was mainly developed to document and communicate facts related to unauthorized new accounts opened under consumer names, the document can also be used to refute charges on existing accounts.

Although, a police report may be sufficient to document an identity theft case, I think that an identity fraud affidavit is a good starting point for documenting all the facts, evidence and witnesses before contacting the police or the affected companies.

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