ID thief suspect maybe known, what to do?

[Jim2013]

Been dealing with identity theft and It destroyed  my credit completely. I moved outside the US few years ago W/ excellent credit mix of 14 credit cards and over $50k limit. In 2010 I learned that collection agencies are calling a forward address/phone number I had used. When I pulled my credit report I discovered that most of  my credit  limits were slashed to about 15% of I had and some where cancelled with a credit score in the upper 500 low 600.

I wasn't able to clear the issue since I couldn't file a police report from abroad until 2 years later when I traveled back to the US to deal with this issue.

Finally, resolved the all issuse and got my combined credit score  to 770 as of Sept 2013, but no one will give me a credit card because I have only two credit cards with only $1000 limit and no payment history for the past 6 years

I did an  internet search and found that the address used with the ID theft and two of the  phone numbers  were tied to the same person. The phone numbers used to open the account were disconnected and point to a regional wireless company. When I looked up this guy, he also had a YouTube vides at work and guess what, he worked at this regional wireless company small shop at stripmall. Add to that, same happened to my wife two years after. When I checked this person, he also lived at another city the same as the collection accounts address for the collections ( not resolved yet)

The total theft exceeded $23000 which it didn't come out of my money. But it  cost me the  travel and Amex credit secure  expenses.

My take is that he bought the info, since I was out of the US years befor all this happen and maybe doing it to others.

My question, If I take all this info to a law enforcement office such as the police or FBI , will they investigate this person? 

[guiness56]

Welcome to the forums.

Glad you got that mess cleaned up.

You can always contact them with what you have and ask.  All they can do is say no.

[RobertEG]

+1, to address possible criminal investigation and prosecution.  It's then up to them whether/how to investigate, and whether to refer to the AG for prosecution.

However, that does not address the possible damages done to you.

If you have sufficient proof, you can always file your own action against tthe person(s), seeking award of civil damages.

It might be good to first consult an attorney for a view of sufficiency of your proofs, and/or what you might be able to additionally obtain thru discovery.

[Jim2013]

When I filed the police report, I did ask the police officer about an investigation and the reply was they will forward the report to the police precinct where the crime occurred but I shouldn't expect much as it's not considered a violent crime

Just carious if the dollar amount would make it up on the list or I am being naive

What tick me  off is when I discovered two years later that my wife's credit report had 5 similar collections and in the same city, I am not sure if my internet searches would be enough for the police but I am thinking of hiring a private investigator based on the information I collected so this low life doesn't do it to others. however, this contingent upon the dollar amount the private eye would ask for

[llecs]

The PI would probably take you for more than what you spent on credit monitoring and travel. I get the want/need to pursue it. I was a victim of ID theft twice. Both times I had CCs cloned and used elsewhere. I remember calling the stores and asking for video footage of the attempted purchases. But in the end I realized that without evidence obtained through legal channels, I was out of luck. Usually these crooks work in teams. So even if one team is caught, the mastermind is still free. 

[RobertEG]

Yeah, the key is "maybe known."

If you bring civil action, you have the burden of proof. 

Whether or not law enforcement will conduct further investigation, and thus provide additional evidence, is iffy.

That is a central reason why the FCRA identity theft process was enacted by congress.

It does not require proofs on the part of the consumer to at least get the asserted identity theft info blocked from their CR.

Some relief, but it doesnt really address the real issue of rooting out the thett.

The identity theft process gives the consumer some assistance in that matter, in that in addition to getting the info blocked by sending the CRA a police report, you can also send a copy of the police report to the reporting creditor, which entitles you under FCRA 609(f) to "all business records" in their possession related to the alleged theft.

That may or may not be useful in identifying the purpetrator.........

[TheConductor]

The sad truth is that law enforcement does nothing for property crimes unless the case is all over the news, somehow linked to organized crime/terror, or numbers in the millions of dollars.

Or, if it gives them leverage to indict someone they eventually want to indict on a larger charge.

Otherwise, they will happily file a report and then do nothing about it.  I say this having been the victim of three burglaries, and in one case actually finding several hundred of my stolen CDs at a local used CD store.  Despite wasting over an hour on bullying the CD store into setting them aside so the case officer could come collect the "evidence", the officer never came and none of my property was ever recovered.  Welcome to the modern "urban crime environment", as they'd say on The Wire,

There are rare exceptions, particularly in low-crime small towns, but in general our public servants have no interest in petty crime.

The suggestion to pursue civil action is your best hope.  Consult a lawyer and see what is possible.