Walk It Through: The Identity Theft Letter
A collection letter for a card never opened, a police report, a credit freeze, and a record set straight.
A collection letter arrives for a credit card the person never opened.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
Identity theft by a stranger. Disputes with the credit bureaus over the report itself are governed by federal law not covered here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- FelonyA crime that can be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than one year. Every other crime is a misdemeanor.
- TheftKnowingly taking or keeping control of someone else's property without authorization, by threat or by deception, meaning to deprive them of it; also receiving property known to be stolen.
- Theft of identityWillfully getting another person's identifying information and using it for any unlawful purpose, such as getting credit or goods in their name without consent.
- Security freezeA block that keeps a credit bureau from releasing a consumer's report to someone deciding on new credit without the consumer's authorization.