Collectors calling (family identity theft)

[Anonymous]

My mother in law has been asking me to help her out.   Her daughter used her SSN to open up credit cards, utilities, cell phones and pay day loans.   The daughter of course has no job and had no intention of paying any of these items.  She only did this because she has ruined her credit too.   The daughter lives in Arizona and my mother in law Arkansas.   I told her I would turn her in as identity theft and dispute all of the collections.   She can prove that she doesn't live in Arizona and never opened up any of these accounts nor the pay day loans.   The daughter also did the same things to all of her kids so when her oldest, now 18, went to get a car loan he couldn't because of his mother ruining his credit. 

Is there something better to do or can someone recommend the best thing to do in this situation?

[DaveInAZ]

You gave your mother in law the best advice - she needs to file an identity theft/fraud report with her local police department with a list of all the fraudulently opened accounts and the Arizona address where the accounts were opened. With a copy of that police report she can then file disputes with all the fraudulent accounts on her credit report. The creditors will then go after the daughter and probably get the local Arizona police department involved.

It can be hard to take legal action against a family member, but that she did this to her mother and her own children is really appalling.

Some time spent in jail might do her some good for her to re-think her life choices.

[bizarrocreditworld]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

You gave your mother in law the best advice - she needs to file an identity theft/fraud report with her local police department with a list of all the fraudulently opened accounts and the Arizona address where the accounts were opened. With a copy of that police report she can then file disputes with all the fraudulent accounts on her credit report. The creditors will then go after the daughter and probably get the local Arizona police department involved.

It can be hard to take legal action against a family member, but that she did this to her mother and her own children is really appalling.

Some time spent in jail might do her some good for her to re-think her life choices.

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Totally agree with DaveinAZ. It will likely be difficult for your mother-in-law to make the decision to have her daughter arrested, but it's for everybody's good. The daughter has caused tremendous damage to her family, and I wonder if she did this to anybody else. The only way to stop someone like this is serious incarceration time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all.  With all of the grief the daughter has caused and time she has spent already in prison and jail it wouldn't be nothing new to all of us.  My mother in law is aware that her daughter could go back in prison.  At this point it will be the best option, she's been homeless, on hard drugs and has really abused everyone to where we all are done with her.  She called saying she had no money and needed to get to a heart doctor, we wired her some money only to find out she was buying drugs with it.  She let her 3 kids sleep in the car and sent them into a hotel in the morning to get contenital breakfast as though they were staying at the hotel.   If she doesn't get what she wants then she starts cursing everyone trying to make them feel guilty for not giving her more money.  The 3 kids are actually now living with a relative so they are safe and the relative is trying to get full custody of them so they don't have to go back to living in a car. It's a shame and sad but it's been going on for years and now my mother in laws credit is so ruined it's not even funny. 

[RobertEG]

Filing of a police report (which the FCRA calls an "identity theft report") is then used to get the information blocked from your credit report.

It is not then used to file disputes.  The identity theft process under FCRA 605B is an alternative to, and avoids any need for, the FCRA dispute process, and does not require any involvement or approval of the creditors.

The police report is the essential element, as it is a sworn statement that imposes potential criminal penalties for any knowingly false statements, and thus raises the assertion of identity theft to the level that the FCRA accepts as adequate to remove the information from your credit report.  See the sticky post titled Victim of Identity Theft found in the upper portion of the General Credit Topics forum for a very detailed discussion of use of the FCRA identity theft process.

Whether or not the police then pursue investigation of the matter is up to them.

They will sometimes place identity theft assertions against family members at a lower priority level.  That is not your primary concern in dealing with the reporting impact.

Regardless, you as the consumer must obtain a police report in order to invoke your right to have the information blocked from your credit report under FCRA 605B.