If someone takes out a loan in your name, act quickly to limit damage to your credit and financial standing.
Start by filing a police report with your local police department, which many allow you to do online. Lenders often require this report before removing fraudulent loans from your account.
Contact the lender or credit card company directly to report the fraudulent account and request its removal from your credit report. Credit cards and personal loans typically resolve quickly. Student loans carry steeper consequences. Defaulted federal student loans can trigger wage garnishment, license suspension, or tax refund seizure. Contact the lender that issued the loan and provide your police report. The lender will ask you to complete an identity theft report. You won't be held responsible for payments while your discharge application is under review. Private student loans follow a similar process, though each lender handles it differently.
If federal student loans were taken out through a school, contact that school's financial aid or registrar's office. They can flag the account and prevent further loans under your name.
Dispute the fraudulent accounts with all three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Submit evidence such as your police report or a lender's letter acknowledging the identity theft. Removing these accounts can help your credit score recover, though it may take weeks or months.
Place a fraud alert on your credit report with one of the three bureaus online. This notifies potential creditors to verify your identity before issuing credit. Consider a credit freeze if you want creditors blocked from accessing your report entirely unless you remove the freeze.
Check your credit report regularly at AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can request one free report from each bureau annually. Stagger the requests every four months to monitor account activity throughout the year.