Letters to help resolve Identity Theft problems
Contents
Information
Credit cards
First, call your credit card company to get charges reversed. If that doesn’t work, use this letter:
Debit cards
First, call your debit card company to get charges reversed. If that doesn’t work, use this letter:
All other types of accounts
If you have an FTC Identity Theft Report:
Credit bureaus must honor your request to remove fraudulent information from your credit report. This is called blocking. Once information is blocked, companies can’t report the debt or try to collect it from you.
- Send this letter to each of the 3 Credit Bureaus:
- If someone opened a new account in your name, send this letter to the company:
- If someone misused one of your existing accounts, send this letter to the company:
If you do NOT have an FTC Identity Theft Report:
You can still dispute incorrect information in your credit file. It can take longer, and there’s no guarantee that the credit bureaus will remove the information.
- Send this letter to each of the 3 Credit Bureaus:
- If someone opened a new account in your name, send this letter to the company:
- If someone misused one of your existing accounts, send this letter to the company:
Getting records about the identity theft
By law, you can get copies of the business records relating to the identity theft (like signatures, receipts, etc). Use this letter:
Dealing with Debt Collectors
If you’re being contacted about debt you don’t owe, use this letter:
To include with your letters
Some of the sample letters include a list of items that you should include with your letter. If needed, you can print out any of these documents to include with your letter:
