When Someone Uses Your Name
ORC 2913.49 — and why the police report is the document that matters
Identity fraud is its own offence in Ohio: using, obtaining or possessing another person's identifying information without consent, to hold it out as one's own or to represent it as belonging to somebody it does not. Knowing that it is a crime is less useful than knowing what the report of it unlocks.
A report goes to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction, and where the fraud happened somewhere else entirely, a victim is encouraged to report it to the agency where they live. A department saying the crime happened in another county is describing where an investigation might sit rather than where a report may be made.
The offence carries heavier treatment where the victim is an elderly person, a disabled adult, an active duty service member or the spouse of one, and the degree also rises with the value involved.
“Has a report been made, and is there a copy of it.”
Disputing an item on a credit report, the tax route where a return was filed in somebody's name, and what happens where an identity was used during an arrest each run through their own processes and are not on this page. The Ohio attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission both take identity theft reports and publish recovery steps. Whether a particular debt can be disputed, and what a victim can recover, are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney, and legal aid offices across the state handle consumer credit matters.
Sources for this section (1)
- ORC 2913.49 — Identity fraud, and what using another person's identifying information is
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.