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Identity theft reporting
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines Identity Theft as someone appropriating your personal information to commit fraud or theft. Often, an identity thief steals your Social Security number or other personal identification and uses it to get a credit card or other financial account in your name or to commit another crime.
For reporting purposes, Identity Theft does not include making fraudulent charges or withdrawing funds from your legitimate accounts. That is classified as Fraud, and we currently do not accept those reports online. For those, you would need to call us at 206-296-3311 to have a deputy take the report.
If you are the victim of identity theft, keep all related papers, receipts, cancelled checks and mail related to this crime. We may contact you to review these items. Please keep a permanent set of all documents.
When you report the fraudulent use of your identity be prepared to provide:
- Your full name, date of birth, social security and Driver License or Identification Card number.
- How the fraud occurred (stolen checks, social security card or number, etc.).
- The name of the bank issuing the Credit/Debit/ATM card, checks, loan.
- The account number (if available).
- How you were notified about the problem (noticed charges on statement, bank called to verify transactions, collection agency called about past due bill, etc.).
- The date(s) and time frame of the transactions.
You can help law enforcement in their efforts as follows:
- Report the identity theft to your financial institution and other creditors.
- Contact one of the three credit bureaus listed below and report the fraudulent use of your identity to them. Ask them about a security freeze or a fraud alert.
- Send a copy of your police report to the three credit reporting agencies listed.
- Record and telephone number of anyone that you contact about the accounts or the use of your identity.
- Keep copies of all bank and credit card statements that have fraudulent charges recorded.
- Keep copies of any collection letters or correspondence with anyone about accounts opened in your name. Ask those companies for any information they might have on the person that opened the account (e.g., a copy of driver license and/or mailing address that product(s) or statements were sent to.)
- Keep a log of names, phone numbers and addresses of everyone you talked to about the fraudulent use of your identity. Note the information received and date of the contact in case you need to contact them for more information.