Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free service for consumers to protect themselves online and reduce their exposure to identity theft * Stay Safe, Stay Secure * *Company names mentioned herein are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners and are for educational purposes only.

1. Inaccuracies, Mistakes and Identity Theft

2. Property Records
Data entry errors may occur; it’s possible
the reporting organization has incorrectly
entered information to your files.
 If there are other public records or
accounts listed in your Public Record
Profile using an unfamiliar property
address, you may want to investigate
further to rule out possible fraud.
 Keep in mind, most data errors are just
that. Errors.


3. Motor Vehicle

If you do not recognize a registered vehicle or find
errors in your registration information, contact the
agency that issued the registration to investigate
or correct the registration. To find the Department
of Motor Vehicles for your state, visit
www.dmv.org.

4. Driver’s License
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If you believe someone has acquired a drivers
license or state-issued identification card in
your name, contact the Department of Motor
Vehicles in the reporting state to further
investigate.
To find the DMV for your state, visit
www.dmv.org. If your state typically uses your
Social Security number as your drivers license
number, insist they substitute another number.
If there are drivers license records shown that
are incorrect or unfamiliar, contact the DMV
that issued the license to research and correct
the item.

5. Professional Licenses

If you believe your name or Social
Security number may have been used to
obtain a state issued license illegally,
contact the State Licensing Department
in the state where the license was
issued.

6. Concealed Weapons
Permits
If you notice information on your permit
records that is inaccurate, you should
contact the issuing county or state and
work with them to ensure that they have
the correct information on file.
 If there is a permit record that does not
belong to you on your report, you should
contact the issuing county or state to
research and correct the item or have it
removed.


7. Voter Registration
Coverage
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If you find a voter registration record in a state
where you have never registered to vote, you
should contact the voter registration board in the
state reporting the record and notify them of the
fraudulent or erroneous records.
To register to vote or to verify the accuracy of your
voter registration, contact your local voter
registration office, which can often be found online
by searching for your state’s board of elections.
For more information about voter registration, visit
the Election Assistance Commission’s Web site at
www.eac.gov.

8. Court Records –
Bankruptcies
This information is gathered from county
and state court databases, and may not be
available for reporting by all states.
 You may find additional court records that
do not appear currently in your Public
Record Profile.
 In addition, existing court information and
bankruptcies may appear on future reports
as more agencies make this information
accessible.


9. Disputing Bankruptcies
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If you believe someone has wrongly filed for bankruptcy
under your name:
1. Obtain a copy of the bankruptcy documents. Contact the
bankruptcy clerk of the court named in the bankruptcy record
and request documents be sent to you, if possible.
2. Write a letter to the U.S. Trustee. You may need to send a
letter in writing to the U.S. Trustee (UST) in the region where
the bankruptcy was filed to describe the situation and
provide proof of your identity. To locate the UST, visit
www.usdoj.gov/ust.
3. File a complaint with law enforcement in the city where the
bankruptcy was filed. You may need to go through your local
police.
4. Get legal help. The UST does not provide legal
representation, legal advice or referrals to lawyers.

10. Criminal/ Civil Court
Records

The process to correct records within criminal
justice databases could vary from state to
county.

Contact the arresting or citing law enforcement
agency. The law enforcement department that
originally arrested the person using your identity or
the court agency that issued the warrant for the
arrest, to explain your situation.
File an Identity Theft Report to confirm your identity.
The police department may collect a full set of your
fingerprints, your photograph and copies of photo
identification such as your drivers license, passport
or visa. Be prepared to provide the required
documentation.


11. The arresting police department should compare the
prints and photographs with those of the imposter to
establish your innocence. If the arrest warrant is from a
state or county other than where you live, ask your local
police department to send the identity theft report to the
police department in the jurisdiction where the arrest
warrant, traffic citation or criminal conviction originated.
 Obtain a clearance letter. The law enforcement agency
should then recall any warrants and issue a clearance
letter or certificate of release (if you were
arrested/booked). You'll need to keep this document with
you at all times in case you're questioned by police.
 Request the law enforcement agency to file a record of
the investigation establishing your innocence with the
district attorney's office and/or court where the crime took
place, which should result in an amended complaint.


12. 
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Contact your state DMV. Find out if your drivers license is
being used by the imposter. Ask that your files be flagged for
possible identity theft.
You may need to hire an attorney to help you clear your
name. Contact legal services in your state or your local bar
association for help finding an attorney.
Unfortunately, once your name is recorded in a criminal
database, it's unlikely that it will be completely removed from
the official record. Ask that the key name, or primary name,
be changed from your name to the imposter's name (or to
John Doe if the imposter's true identity is not known), with
your name noted only as an alias.
If your state has no formal procedure for clearing your
record, contact the district attorney’s office in the county
where the case was originally prosecuted to ask for the
appropriate court records needed to clear your name.

13. Court Records
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If you notice inaccuracies on your court
records, you should contact the court reporting
the record (county recorder) and work with
them to update and correct the information.
However, courts may not update old records or
report updated information, depending on
state law.
If there are records listed in your Public
Record Profile that are incorrect or unfamiliar,
contact the agency shown to research and
correct the item. You made need to make the
request in writing.

14. Personal Information
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Your identification information: Name, Date of
Birth, Social Security number and any aliases
associated with your identity.
Aliases may appear if you use a nickname,
selectively use your middle name or initial, legally
change your name or if your name was
accidentally misspelled in a public record.
Listed names are collected from many different
sources, including, utility companies; phone
companies; court, city, county, state and federal
records, creditors and credit reporting agencies.

15. Other Names Associated with
SSN

This includes other names found in public records that
have been associated with your Social Security
number (SSN). These typically occur as the result of:
 Clerical errors caused by data entry personnel mistyping
the last digit of a SSN or name spelling into a public
record.
 Clerical errors in information sent to the credit reporting
agencies

If you have another name associated with your SSN,
you should:
 Check the public records for unknown addresses,
properties or other records
 Check your credit files from each of 3 credit reporting
agencies for accounts you do not recognize

16. Address Information

Address information is derived from various sources
such as public utilities and government records.

Your verified address represents your current
address(es) as indicated in these public records.

Multiple addresses occur for various reasons, such as:
· You have more than one residence.
· You use a different billing address.
· You are a co-signor for a family member at a
different address.

17. Incorrect Dates
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This information provides a timeline for which a
public record could have you listed at a specific
address.
These dates are not meant to represent specific
relocation dates.
If you move and do not update or obtain a new
drivers license or change your voter registration to
your new address, your address history may not
reflect your move.
Inaccurate dates should not cause concern if the
address itself is one where you previously lived.
Companies are not likely to update archived
records to correct dates of residence or
typographical errors.

18. Inaccurate Address
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Mistakes do happen; it is possible that the reporting
organization mis-keyed your address when entering
it into their system.
If the address is valid, but contains a typographical
error and is not a current address, there is no need
to correct the error.
Companies are unlikely to update and re-report
address information for accounts that are no longer
active.
If your current address contains errors, you may
want to contact companies that you have accounts
with to ensure that they have the correct address on
file for your account to ensure that billing statements
and other information are delivered to the correct
address.

19. Unfamiliar Address
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If there are other public records listed in your profile using
that address, you may want to investigate further to rule out
possible fraud. If you suspect mail theft, contact the U.S.
Postal Inspection Service; visit
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ to file a report.
Address records are collected from many different sources,
including, but not limited to:
 Utility Companies, Phone Companies, Court, County,
State and Federal Records, Creditors and Credit
Reporting Agencies
Once an address has been reported and becomes part of
your public records, it’s almost impossible to locate agency
who reported the address.
If you find an unfamiliar address that is more than just a data
entry or typographical error, you should examine your profile
for any records that do not belong to you.

20. Unlisted Phone Number
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Your Public Record Profile is compiled from
hundreds of public databases, including utility
companies and other public resources.
If your phone number is listed on any public record
or utility company file, it is most likely listed on
public records, even if your phone number is
unlisted.

21. Is it IDT or an Error?
Before hitting the ‘Identity Theft’ panic
button, look into where the information
came from and you’ll see many companies
touch your information. Errors are not
Identity Theft.
 A good rule to determine if the error could
be identity theft is if it’s linked to utilities,
credit accounts or mailings.
 Also if the error is corrected and it
reappears. This could indicate someone is
using parts of your identity and submitting
applications for credit or utilities.


22. Police Reports
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Obtain any documentation regarding the
fraudulent account including address, public
records. http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf0090-fcra-609e.pdf
Provide names and numbers of agencies, utility
companies contacted.
Write a brief synopsis listing a time line of facts of
the crime.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0094identity-theft-affidavit.pdf
Notify your local police department and file a
complaint. Provide copies of all documents.

23. Fraud Alerts
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Order and review all three national credit reports for
possible identity theft.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
Look in the public records section of your credit report for
inaccuracies or fraudulent names and addresses.
If you locate fraud you have an option to place either a 90
day, 7 year or Security Freeze on your credit files.
Understand how the Alerts and Freeze works and how they
will impact your ability to obtain credit.
Placing an alert will also opt you out of preapproved credit
offers.
Requesting a fraud alert from either credit bureau will
automatically place on the other two.

24. 90 Day Fraud Alert
Allows a new credit report every 90 days. This is
calendar days, so the start of the following month.
 Per the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions
Act these are free.
 Add good contact number(s) example; Cell &
Home.
 It’s suggested merchants ask for addition
information before extending credit. Most have a
process in place for ‘out of pocket’ questions for
verification. It’s also an option, so they may skip it.
 If a creditor calls, they need to speak to you
directly, not your spouse or friend.


25. 7 Year Fraud Alert
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These include the same basics of the 90
day alert.
Good/active contact number are important
and your responsibly to keep the bureaus
updated if they change.
Keep in mind, 7 years is a long time to
have this alert in place. Is it necessary?
Requires a police report that lists identity
theft as the crime.
You can request 2 free credit reports per
year while the 7 year alert is in place.

26. Security Freeze
This is pretty much a ‘lock down’ of your credit.
 Does not mean credit can not be opened, some
creditors use alternate credit reporting companies.
 If you are a victim of identity theft related fraud,
these are free. If not, there could be a fee
depending on the state you live in.
 You will have a code and special number to call to
‘lift’ the freeze to allow creditors access.
 You can determine the amount of time this lift is in
active, 2 days, 7 days, 25 days etc.
 Each credit bureau has it’s own guidelines.
Understand them before activating the freeze.


27. TransUnion
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Security Freeze:
http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/creditdisputes/credit-freezes.page
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How to Read a credit report:
http://www.transunion.com/docs/business/HowToR
eadCreditReport.pdf

Fraud Alert:http://www.transunion.com/personalcredit/credit-disputes/fraud-alerts.page

28. Equifax
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Security Freeze:
https://help.equifax.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1
59
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How to read a credit report:
http://www.uwsv.org/sites/uwsv.org/files/Sample%
20Credit%20Report-Equifax.pdf

Fraud Alert: http://www.equifax.com/answers/setfraud-alerts/en_cp

29. Experian
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Security Freeze:
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
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How to read a credit report:
http://www.experian.com/credit_report_basics/pdf/
samplecreditreport.pdf

Fraud Alert:
https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html

30. Last but not least
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Use common sense when adding a Fraud Alert or
Freeze to your credit files because of inaccuracies
found on public records.
Request the agency responsible to fix the error.
There are Specialty Credit Reports for many types
of credit (mortgage, utilities, loans etc.) You may
need to contact them in a similar manner.
Don’t panic! If you are a victim of identity theft,
numerous federal and state laws are available to
you.
Remember, you are not responsible for fraudulent
accounts set up with your Personally Identifiable
Information.

31. Compiled and designed by Mark Fullbright , Certified Identity Theft Risk
Management Specialist™ (CITRMS) as a free service for consumers to
reduce their exposure to identity theft.
Stay Safe, Stay Secure