Identity Theft: What to Do About Fraud on Your Credit Report
If accounts you never opened, or inquiries from companies you don't recognize, show up on your report, someone else may have used your information. This is identity theft, and the law gives you specific, free tools to protect yourself.
Signs of identity theft
- Accounts and cards you never opened
- Hard inquiries from companies you never contacted
- Collections for debts that were never yours
- Unfamiliar addresses in your personal information
First steps (all of these are your legal rights)
- Place a fraud alert or freeze your credit (credit freeze) at the bureaus — free of charge
- File a report at identitytheft.gov (the official FTC portal) — it generates a recovery plan
- Dispute the fraudulent entries with the bureaus and creditors as identity theft
- Keep all documents and correspondence
💡 Only for genuine fraud
An identity theft report is filed under penalty of perjury and applies strictly to entries you truly never made. It's a tool to protect victims, not a way to erase your own legitimate debts.
How to protect yourself going forward
- Keep your credit frozen when you're not applying for anything
- Check your report with all three bureaus regularly
- Don't share your SSN or card details unless necessary
Key takeaways
- Unfamiliar accounts/inquiries on your report may signal identity theft
- A fraud alert and credit freeze are free and available immediately
- identitytheft.gov (FTC) provides an official recovery plan
- File a fraud report only for entries that truly aren't yours
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This content is for educational purposes only and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. You have the right to dispute information in your credit report yourself, free of charge. Results vary; past results do not guarantee future outcomes.