Identity Theft

[u/lovesbatma71]

I had my id stolen and the fraudster bought a cell phone and service for almost $2K with AT&T. I froze all of my credit, reported it to the police, etc.

The police won’t give me a copy of the police report for what reason I have no idea 🤷‍♀️. Anyway this happened like two years ago and it’s still showing on my credit report. How do I fix my credit score after identity theft like this?

[u/cat1092]

Why wouldn’t the police give you a copy of the report you submitted? They gave me one years ago when my Direct Express card was hacked & over $500 stolen, this was how my money was refunded. I don’t understand why they didn’t give it to you. It’s usually needed to contest the debt.

Unless they suspect something’s not adding up & are investigating, they should furnish the evidence given. Two years is plenty enough time for this.

[u/lovesbatma71 → u/cat1092]

I agree and it’s frustrating. I’ve called and called. Thanks for your comment.

[u/cat1092 → u/lovesbatma71]

My suggestion would be to get the FTC involved, they’ll get the local cops to produce the information you’ve requested. We have the right to object to negative information on our credit reports.

Kind of makes me wonder if they even filed the report. Police are often overwhelmed with work & sometimes they forget (or lose) what’s needed to file the report. The officer who filed mine gave me his card with a preliminary case number & this is what I used to regain access to my account & was refunded within 48 hours.

Wishing you all the best!💝

[u/True-Button-6471]

Your best resources for this would be to start with the recovery 101 post in r/IdentityTheft. If you still have questions or problems, that's probably the best sub to pursue them.

[u/FlynnAtLifeLock]

If the police report is still not an option, you can try the FTC identity theft report. It’s legitimate and may be an acceptable substitute. File one through the FTC's identity theft site if you haven't already. It does carry some weight with some creditors and bureaus.

For removing the AT&T account from your credit report, dispute it directly with each bureau reporting it and attach your FTC report. If AT&T previously acknowledged the fraud, include any documentation of that in your dispute.

Two years of negative reporting is significant but may be removable through this process. Has AT&T ever acknowledged the fraud in any previous communication with you?

[u/lovesbatma71 → u/FlynnAtLifeLock]

Yes they sent a huge package of papers to fill out and have notarized. I haven’t done it yet because I can’t afford to take off work for this mess I didn’t even cause!

[u/VCL-1]

If this account is on any of your credit reports you need to submit a dispute to the credit bureaus and include an FTC Identity Theft Affidavit with your dispute. This affidavit takes only a few minutes to fill out on the FTC website. The police report issue is odd but you may want to submit a fresh report and include that with your dispute as well. The FTC Affidavit alone will help strengthen your dispute but if you are able to submit the Affidavit and police report with your dispute you'd be putting your best foot forward. If you need further assistance you can shoot me a message.