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If you have been a victim of identity theft, you will not have to pay for any money you have lost, unless it can be shown that you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, for example, by keeping your PIN number written down with your card. However, you must act quickly.
You should contact your bank and make sure that they are aware that you have been the victim of identity theft and that no payment is to be made in relation to any fraudulent contract. If you have found out about the identity theft because a payment has already been made from your bank account then you should contact your bank and request that the money be refunded. Please note that your bank may request that you report the matter to the police.
Even if your bank does not request that you report the identity theft to the police, you may want to do so anyway.
If you are receiving unexplained bills or requests for money, you will want to contact the company which has been defrauded and explain to them that you have been the victim of identity theft. You should do this in writing and should also request that they send your further details regarding the transaction so that you can pursue the matter further, if necessary.
If the organisation you have contacted confirms that it will cancel any contract that has been fraudulently created in your name, and that no payment will be taken from you, you will want to contact your bank and/or police and pass on this information. You will then want to request your credit files to find out whether there is any bad data on your file due to the identity theft.
If you have not already reported the matter to your bank and/or police, you should definitely do so now. You should also:
1. Send a follow up letter to the defrauded organisation using any evidence which they have provided to you when you requested further details of the alleged transactions.
2. Seek legal advice.
3. Request your credit files (see below).
After contacting the necessary organisations, you will want to request your credit files so that you can find out if there is any bad data on your credit file as a result of the identity theft. You will be able to find out more information on this process and what follow up steps to take by reading our article on this topic.
