Credit Card FAQ

Someone Opens Credit Card on my Name - What Should I Do?

30 July 2010 by CreditCardsCo™


In the current financial market, there has been a lot of concern regarding fraud and ways to control it. Due to the rising tension in economy on a global scale, recent research has shown that credit card fraud in particular is at an all time high. Security issues with credit cards has always been of great concern for quite a long time and has gone under a lot of scrutiny that more measures should be put into place to prevent credit card fraud from occurring. There are a number of different credit card frauds that can take place in the current market; some more damaging than others. The worst case scenario that can happen is when someone opens a credit card in your name. Not only is this a form of credit card fraud but it is also identify fraud as well.

Being faced with a situation where you have found out that someone has opened a credit card in your personal name can be quite disturbing. The constant fear of what your identity is being used for has been known to cause many individuals to find themselves in a lot of distress. It is very important that if you find yourself in such a situation that you take some form of action immediately rather than later. Delaying your actions in such a situation will only make matters much worse as people that tend to commit identify fraud through credit cards know that they only have a limited amount of time to act before they are caught.

The first thing that you should do is contact the credit company that issued the card in the first place. Get them to close the account immediately and try speaking to someone that is higher in authority other than the standard call representative that will answer the phone. You would also want to issue a police report at the same time stating that you have been a victim of identify theft and provide them with any details that they require. It is also important to make sure that when you do contact the credit company, you ask them to send you a copy of the application form that was approved on your name and all the documentation that was provided along side it. This will be needed if and when any legal action needs to be taken against the credit card company.

Depending on which state you are in, it is important to also contact the federal trade commission and law enforcement in regards to your situation. It is also an option to contact the top credit reporting bureaus so that they can enforce some sort of freeze on all your credit accounts. What this will ensure is that there is no chance that your credit rating is damaged any further especially for transactions that were not legally done on your name. During this entire process, it would also be a good idea to contact a lawyer for some legal and professional advice.

Discuss and share your experience at Someone opens a credit card in my name forum.

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