IDENTITY THEFT WITHIN A FAMILY - PART ONE

Among the most complex and disturbing of identity theft crimes are those committed by family members. We frequently work with clients who discover that a family member has stolen their identity, often with very serious consequences. This crime is frequently the result of divorce, but often occurs within seemingly stable family groups. The identity theft can be between parent and child, siblings, grandparents, and others and the consequences of this crime can be painful. Family members are often fearful that if a police report is filed then the family member responsible for the crime will be charged by the police.

Families facing identity theft within the family have only two options and either of these options can be painful. The options are: file a police report, or have the family member responsible for the crime formally acknowledge their responsibility for their actions.

To invoke your rights as an identity theft victim, and to begin the process of clearing your name and credit, you must file a police report. Without a police report no crime has been committed. If no crime was committed then the acts taken in your name are by definition valid. In other words, if a family member sold your property without your permission and used your identity to commit the crime, and you do not file a police report – then no crime has been committed and the sale stands. If a father steals a child’s name and buys a car on the child’s credit, and no police report is filed, the child has the debt. If an ex-spouse obtains bank financing using the former spouse’s identity, without a police report, then the debt stands.

A police report is critical. If the report is not filed, then the family member who is the victim of identity theft has no option but to make good on the results of the criminal act.

A second option is to have the family member who committed the fraud accept the consequences, and formally acknowledge responsibility for the crime.

These are the only two options.

More on having a family member accept the consequences and free the victim from the ill effects of the crime in a later post.