How to Collect Evidence Against an Identity Thief

Collecting evidence against an identity thief takes a little legwork and a lot of patience. Report the identity theft to both the police and the Federal Trade Commission. Doing so will help you when it comes time to prosecute. Here are a few other steps you can take to collect evidence against an identity thief and get your finances back on track.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Credit reports
• Access to public records search engines

1. Get a copy of all three of your credit reports. Credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax, will list alternate names, contact numbers and addresses that have been used on credit applications associated with your Social Security number.
2. Call the credit card companies that have granted credit to the identity thief using your Social Security number and request that the company send you copies of monthly billing statements.
3. Conduct a public records search. After you receive copies of your credit reports that list the names and addresses of aliases used in conjunction with your Social Security number, type the name into a public records search engine such as All Public Records and County Public Records.
4. Hire a lawyer. It is easier for lawyers to work in conjunction with law enforcement to gather information about the identity thief because they have access to law enforcement and legal databases that you don't.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep accurate records. Document every phone conversation with every person that you speak with about your identity theft.
• Make copies of everything related to the theft.
• Put a security warning on each one of your credit reports. This will ensure that you will be contacted before credit using your Social Security number is granted.
• Don't be a vigilante. You may be angry and your finances may be in ruins, but leave the prosecution up to the professionals.