Something to check before buying a house.

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The_Gray_Marquis on November 20th, 2018 at 15:05 UTC »

What recourse does someone have if this happens to them?

Edit: Specifically, what steps are taken to remove the fraudulent debt from your name and what is the process for repairing your credit score/returning it to its pre-identity theft state?

amisner on November 20th, 2018 at 15:11 UTC »

CALL THE POLICE IMMEDIATELY AND HAVE THEM WRITE A REPORT ABOUT THIS IDENTITY THEFT

It doesn’t matter how long those credit cards have been on your credit report or if they have been charged off. What you need to do is report this to the police TODAY. It should be easy enough to prove you didn’t open those credit cards by looking at the address on the account. Assuming you don’t live with him (you seem to have at least a decent job), it’s an open and shut case. Even if you did or do live with him, you are swearing to the police that you did not open those credit cards. For the officer who takes your report, it’s usually pretty simple. They’ll tell you that if you’re lying you might get charged with filing a false police report, which won’t happen to you because you’re actually telling the truth. Don’t take it personally, they sometimes just have to say it because it’s their job.

Your brother will likely get sued or criminally charged or both for doing this. Maybe you care, maybe you don’t either way, if you want to own a home in the next 7 years, you’re going to heave him directly under the bus and rightfully so.

You also need to setup something that lets you keep track of your credit score and lets you know when there is a change or you can go the other route and completely freeze your credit reports.

And please, tell your parents and other siblings about it, if he did it to you, he may very well have done it to them as well.

BenignEvil on November 20th, 2018 at 15:46 UTC »

DO NOT PAY A FUCKING DIME TO THE CREDIT CARD AGENCIES. THIS IS NOT YOUR DEBT.

These shady motherfuckers will also likely ask you to pay a small amount while this issue is being dealt with. DO NOT GIVE THEM A DIME. By doing so, you're assuming responsibility.

Please also post to r/personalfinance and r/legaladvice. LegalAdvice is likely just going to tell you to lawyer up, but PersonalFinance may be able to help provide you with some resources to still get a loan.

Good luck OP