Identity Theft Recovery

Identity Theft Victims Need Identity Theft Lawyers.

At Consumer Justice Law Firm, our identity theft lawyers help identity theft victims recover from the harmful consequences of identity theft and identity fraud by fighting massive companies to fix your accounts, finances, and credit reports.

GET JUSTICE for identity theft!

We fight to make credit, finance, and reporting companies

1. Fix your accounts and follow the law
2. Pay you money for any harm they cause
3. Pay your legal bills (you pay $0 out of pocket)

The 2 Ways Identity Theft Harms You

1. The first wave. This is the primary harm caused by the immediate financial and credit fraud that strikes. This shows up as things like money depleted from banking and other accounts, credit lines maxed out or new ones opened in your name, benefits claimed, redirected, or stolen, utilities and services opened in your name, and more. This is the direct financial hit from identity theft.
2. The second wave. These are the continuous, slow-rolling hits that just keep coming after identity theft- the ghosts that linger long after the crime is committed. These shows up as things like banks and other financial institutions refusing to acknowledge that you’re an identity theft victim, insisting that the accounts, debts, and loans are legitimate, playing games with refunding money or zeroing out balances on fraudulent accounts, continuously reporting wrongful data in your credit reports, and unfairly sending accounts to debt collectors.

Look for things like

• Money directly stolen. Fraudsters access your bank accounts, including savings, checking, money market, retirement, and others, to transfer or deplete funds.
• Debts in your name. Thieves access current lines of credit, such as credit cards, personal loans, home equity loans, and more, or open new ones in your name, including credit cards, personal loans, auto loans, mortgages, and more.
• Benefits stolen. If you receive social security, Medicaid, or other benefits, thieves can access, drain, or redirect them, or open benefit accounts in your name.
• Credit reports riddled with bad data. Unauthorized credit checks, fraudulent transactions, and unapproved loans get reported on your credit profile as if they’re legitimate. Your credit score reflects these inaccuracies by dropping significantly.
• Reputational damage. Financial and credit reporting damage rarely stays between you and the agency reporting it. In fact, credit reports exist to be used by decision-makers. Anyone reviewing your credit report while it’s full of data generated by fraud will assume the worst about your financial health and deny you opportunities unfairly.
• Mental and emotional distress. Missing out on long-awaited opportunities, losing sleep due to worry, and being plagued by anxiety are disastrous for your mental and emotional wellbeing. The toll identity theft takes on people is real.

Get a FREE consultation and work with an experienced identity theft lawyer for $0 out of pocket. We only get paid when we win.

What is Identity Theft Recovery?

Identity theft recovery is a type of consumer protection law in which identity theft lawyers help identity theft victims get their lives back.

Since it’s a crime, identity thieves can be prosecuted for stealing credit, money, benefits, and more. However, identifying and prosecuting identity thieves is incredibly challenging, particularly when crime rings or international criminals are involved. When criminal prosecutions do happen, they typically take years.

Frequently, identity theft victims are left to pick up the pieces by themselves- stranded in a sea of false accounts and bad data. This is where identity theft lawyers step in to help people recover.

What Does an Identity Theft Lawyer Do?

• Identity theft lawyers help identify every piece of false data created in your name and reported as belonging to you
• Identity theft lawyers enforce the your rights and their corporate obligations under federal law, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Electronic Funds Transfer Act, Fair Credit Billing Act, and Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
• Identity theft lawyers act quickly to move things forward in time to meet the relevant statutes of limitations (time limits for filing legal action)
• Identity theft lawyers know which credit reporting and data furnishing companies to contact and dispute
• Identity theft lawyers know how to dispute errors and gather evidence without infringing any of your legal rights
• Identity theft lawyers hold companies accountable for stalls, delays, and inadequate investigations
• Identity theft lawyers prevent or stop debt collectors from the relentless pursuit of unpaid debts and accounts that you never authorized or opened
• Identity theft lawyers hold any credit bureau, data furnisher, or other company accountable for prolonging or worsening the harm done to you
• Identity theft lawyers file a lawsuit to get you money

Check out The Consumer Justice Blog for articles about identity theft lawyers and other topics that help consumers protect and enforce their rights.

How to Detect Identity Theft

• Unexpected Credit Denial. If getting turned down for a loan, credit card, mortgage, or other loan or financial opportunity is a surprise, you need to investigate.
• Inexplicable Credit Drop. Any sudden, unexpected, or sharp drop in your credit score is a red flag.
• Unauthorized Credit Checks. If you didn’t authorize having your credit pulled, someone else did.
• Unfamiliar Bills. Receiving information or bills for services and accounts you don’t recognize needs immediate follow up.
• Unknown Loans. Store cards, credit cards, and other loan products that aren’t yours but show up on your credit profile in your name point to credit fraud.
• Collections You Don’t Recognize. Notices or phone calls from debt collectors seeking payment on accounts you never opened or services you never arranged for can quickly spiral into a debt harassment nightmare.
• Unauthorized Bank Withdrawals. Money leaving your bank accounts without your knowledge needs immediate attention.
• Shocking Loss of Benefits. No longer receiving benefits that you have been receiving or should be receiving can mean someone else is getting them in your name instead.
• Questionable Account Updates. Receiving unexpected confirmation from banks, lenders, and other accounts that your address, email, password, or other info, has been updated in their system should be taken seriously.

3 Steps To Take After Discovering Identity Theft

Step 1  Talk to an identity theft lawyer

What makes recovering from identity theft tricky is that some claims are time-barred and have to be dealt with rapidly, while other claims get lost in a system that is supposed to investigate and correct errors but frequently falls short. An identity theft lawyer clearly explains your rights, guides you through the dispute and recovery process, and fights to get you fixes and compensation.

Step 2   Let the credit & finance companies know

Carefully review your credit report from each credit bureau and your account statements from each financial company (credit, banking, investment, benefits, store accounts, etc). Note every instance of wrongful or inaccurate data, no matter how small. Report and dispute the bad data or unauthorized activity as soon as possible. Freeze your credit.

Step 3   File a criminal report

File a report with your local police, your state’s Attorney General (if applicable), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Filing a report paves the way for criminal prosecution, but it also supports your efforts to clear your credit record of false debts, loans, withdrawals, etc.

6 Key Things an Identity Theft Lawyer Knows

Not every identity theft case ends in a lawsuit, but many do. Litigation usually becomes necessary when financial companies and consumer reporting agencies simply fail to do the right thing. Seemingly simple things, like being notified of fraudulent charges due to identity theft, that should have a relatively straightforward solution, become prolonged and painful battles.

Knowing when, how, and who to sue is everything. Here’s what an identity theft lawyer knows:

1. We know the law. We know the laws that protect you and how to go after these careless banking, credit, and reporting companies using every possible legal option available.
2. We know the problems. We’ve seen, heard, and handled every type of consumer financial and reporting error and put our full knowledge and resources into everything we do.
3. We know the tricks. We know the tactics used by these companies to delay doing anything to fix financial or reporting mistakes. They’d rather convince you it’s a lost cause, but we know otherwise.
4. We know what you need to win.  We help you gather necessary data and evidence, craft and file legally sound disputes, and advise you of your rights and best practices along the way.
5. We know how and when to file a lawsuit. If your errors aren’t corrected or the fallout persists, we file a lawsuit to hold companies accountable.
6. We know how to get you money.  If you’ve been harmed by financial and credit reporting errors and bad data, you may be entitled to compensation, and we know how to maximize it.

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

Identity theft has consequences that can spread through your credit profile quickly. The credit bureaus and other consumer reporting agencies are part of a fast and furious data industry that depends largely on the ability of monstrously large corporations to gather, process, and report data for tens of millions of individuals on a rolling basis.

In the balance between speed and profit, accuracy is the first thing to go. And you pay the consequences. Because identity theft-related errors are part of a large-scale problem and because they cause genuine harm to people every single day, the federal government passed an important piece of legislation to protect you- the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

We rely heavily on the FCRA to build the best possible cases and get the best possible outcomes.

Your Rights Under the FCRA

This federal law gives you the right to

• review your credit reports for free
• know which data in a credit report was used to deny you an opportunity
• dispute credit report errors
• work with an identity theft lawyer to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties
• seek compensation for harm suffered
• make the wrongdoers pay for your legal costs and fees

How to Dispute Errors that Harm Identity Theft Victims

• Act quickly to dispute fraudulent charges, transactions, and loans. Once you notice something is off, jump into gear getting things locked down and disputed.
• Review your credit reports and financial statements for mistakes and unauthorized activity.
• Gather any evidence and documentation you have to support your dispute. This should include the police report and any communications with the FTC or state Attorney General’s office.
• Follow the rules for the specific financial company whose data you’re disputing.
• Write a thorough and clear letter explaining exactly which information in your credit  report or financial statement is wrong and why.
• Mail your letter, along with copies of the supporting documents, via certified mail to the credit reporting and financial companies. This preserves your rights and leaves an easily traceable trail. Avoid using online dispute platforms if they make you waive your legal rights.
• Keep a copy of the letters and documents for your file, along with the mail receipts.
• Track the days. Credit bureaus and lenders holding credit cards, charge accounts, and lines of credit have 30 days to respond.
• Don’t give up. If they don’t respond, don’t investigate, don’t fix the errors, or claim that their investigation confirmed the bad data and fraudulent activity, you need a lawyer NOW.

How Fee-Shifting Works

One of the most important and least known facts about fighting this type of fraud and these types of reporting errors is that you don’t have to pay out of pocket for legal help.

Under the FCRA, you are not expected to spend your own money or take on debt just to dispute credit reporting errors and demand corrections of your data. You didn’t create the problem, you shouldn’t have to pay to fix it. The law makes the companies who made the problem pay to fix it.

At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we respect this fee-shifting provision for the role it plays in our legal system. It is as an equalizer, bringing justice to everyone, including those who otherwise couldn’t afford to work with an identity theft lawyer. The law has cleverly carved out a way to center equity and fairness in legal representation for victims of identity theft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I file a police report for identity theft?

Yes. Once you know you’re an identity theft victim, you should immediately shut down any further access to your accounts, benefits, and credit by contacting your financial institutions and the credit bureaus, and file a police report. The police report is what begins the process of investigating the crimes of identity theft and identity fraud, but it also plays a key role in the recovery process.

Many of the financial and reporting companies will require a police report to confirm that the disputed accounts, loans, and activity are, in fact, fraudulent and unauthorized. A police report filed close in time to the discovery of the identity theft is also very helpful if you need to work with an identity theft lawyer to file a lawsuit against any financial, credit, or debt collection companies.

What can I do to prevent identity theft?

Use these tips to help you stay safe:

1. Stay on top of your accounts, checking in regularly so you know when something doesn’t make sense.
2. Never follow a link or click on anything unless you KNOW it’s legitimate. Treat every email, text message, or phone call that you didn’t initiate as if it were a scam and work backwards to verify if it’s legitimate. Look at the specific phone number or email address of the sender. Check for errors or awkward language. Call every company or agency directly to confirm they sent you an email, text, letter, phone call, etc. Be skeptical of any claim of urgency.
3. If someone calls or texts from an unknown number claiming to be your loved one (and even sounds like them) call or text your loved one directly to confirm it’s them.
4. Only use public WiFi if it’s safe.
5. Use an RFID-blocking wallet.
6. Use strong passwords and password protection software (if you can).