Identity Theft: What to Do, How to Report It and Stop Accounts or Loans in Your Name

A letter from a debt collector about a loan you never took out. A credit card you didn't apply for showing up on your credit report. A friend asking why you're messaging them for money from a brand-new profile with your photos. That's how identity theft usually shows up: someone is using your name, your personal details or your face to fool other people or to open accounts that end up billed to you. It's stressful, and feeling like you've lost control is completely normal. But there are clear steps to stop it, and the sooner you take them, the better.

This guide walks you through what to do first, how to report identity theft in the US and the UK, and how to close accounts, loans or debts that aren't yours.

In this article

1. Signs someone has stolen your identity
2. What to do right away
3. How to report identity theft
4. Accounts, loans or debts in your name: how to shut them down
5. Fake profiles on social media
6. How to protect yourself going forward
7. Watch out for anyone promising to fix it all
8. When to get professional help

Signs someone has stolen your identity

Identity theft is when someone gets hold of enough of your personal details to pretend to be you. Identity fraud is when they use those details to open accounts, borrow money or trick other people. Online, it often looks like this:

• Debts you don't recognize. Bills, texts or calls from a lender, a debt collector or a phone company about contracts you never signed.
• New accounts on your credit report. Credit cards, loans or phone contracts you didn't open, or credit checks you didn't ask for. Sometimes you only find out when you're turned down for credit.
• Strange activity at your bank. Charges, transfers or quick loans you didn't make, or cards you never requested.
• A fake profile with your photos. Someone sets up an Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or WhatsApp account in your name and messages your friends, usually to ask for money.
• Your accounts stop being yours. You can't log in to your email or social media, or you get password-reset alerts and codes you didn't request.
• Packages, orders or bills in your name that you didn't place.

It almost always starts with details that leaked in a data breach or that someone tricked out of you: a photo of your ID sent to "verify" something, a fake text from your bank, a shopping site that wasn't real. Don't blame yourself. These tricks are very convincing and they catch a lot of people.

What to do right away

Order matters. Do this first, even if you don't know how far it goes yet:

1. Call your bank using the number on your card or in the app. Tell them you suspect identity theft, ask them to lock cards or access if needed, and ask whether there are any transactions or products in your name you don't recognize.
2. Change your passwords for your main email, online banking and social media from a device you trust, and turn on two-step verification. Check your recovery email and phone number too: that's the first thing someone changes after taking over an account.
3. Save the evidence before you delete anything: screenshots of the fake profile (with the link), messages, debt letters, statements, emails and any account or reference numbers.
4. Warn your contacts through another channel (a call, a different app) not to send money to anyone using your name.
5. If your ID, passport or driver's license was lost or stolen, report it to the agency that issued it and mention it in your report.

How to report identity theft

Reporting matters for two reasons: it gets the case on record, and it gives you the document banks, lenders and credit bureaus will ask for before they remove what isn't yours.

In the US

• IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC's site lets you report what happened and gives you an FTC Identity Theft Report plus a personalized recovery plan, with pre-filled letters you can send to companies and credit bureaus.
• Police report. Some lenders or situations still call for one. Bring your FTC report, ID and evidence.
• Online fraud with money lost? Also file with the FBI's IC3. We explain the process in how to report a scam.

In the UK

• Report Fraud handles fraud reports for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, online or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, contact Police Scotland on 101.
• Lost or stolen documents should also be reported to whoever issued them, such as HM Passport Office or the DVLA, and to the police for a crime reference number.

Accounts, loans or debts in your name: how to shut them down

This is usually the part that worries people most, so let's take it step by step. The key point: if you didn't open it, you didn't agree to it, and that's the basis for getting it closed and removed.

1. Don't ignore it. Debts don't go away if you stay quiet, and they can end up hurting your credit.
2. Call the company's fraud department, then follow up in writing. Say you didn't open the account, include a copy of your identity theft or police report, and ask them to close it, stop collecting and confirm in writing that you're not responsible.
3. Pull your credit reports. In the US, get your free reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute anything fraudulent with each bureau. Your FTC report helps you get fraudulent accounts removed. In the UK, ask Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for your free statutory report and report any mismatches. The ICO explains that the agencies' fraud teams share victim-of-fraud information, so telling one usually alerts the others.
4. Lock down new credit. In the US, a credit freeze is free, doesn't affect your score and stops anyone from opening new credit in your name until you lift it (contact all three bureaus). A fraud alert is also free and lasts a year; contact one bureau and it must tell the other two. In the UK, you can add a free Notice of Correction password to your credit file, or pay £30 for two years of Cifas Protective Registration, which tells member banks and lenders to run extra checks.
5. If the company won't fix it, escalate: in the US, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB; in the UK, to the Financial Ombudsman Service, or to the ICO if a lender won't correct a fraudulent entry on your file.

It's frustrating to have to prove it wasn't you. But with a report and a few clear letters, these situations very often get sorted out.

If money was taken from your account

If there are payments, transfers or purchases you didn't authorize, call your bank today. In both the US and the UK, the rules generally protect customers against unauthorized payments, and reporting quickly makes a real difference. We go through the options in can you get money back after a scam?. In many cases the money is recovered, especially if you act fast.

A typical case: Sarah gets an email welcoming her to a $3,000 online loan. She never applied for anything. That afternoon she calls the lender's fraud line, files at IdentityTheft.gov and emails the lender her report saying the loan isn't hers. The next day she places a fraud alert and checks her credit reports for anything else. Moving fast stops the debt from growing and landing on her credit file.

Fake profiles on social media

When someone opens a profile with your name and photos, the quickest way to get it taken down is through the platform itself:

• Report the profile using "Report" → "Pretending to be me" (the wording varies a bit between apps).
• Ask friends and family to report it too from their own accounts, and not to reply to it.
• If the profile asked for money or scammed someone, report it to the police as well, and anyone who paid should call their bank right away. If it went through Zelle, Cash App or Venmo, see what to do after a payment app scam.
• If your WhatsApp was taken over and is being used to ask for money, follow the steps in WhatsApp scams: what to do.

How to protect yourself going forward

You can't bring the risk down to zero, but you can make life much tougher for anyone trying to use your identity:

• Don't send photos of your ID by chat or email unless you're sure who's asking. If you have to, consider adding a watermark with the date and the reason.
• Use two-step verification on email, banking and social media, and different passwords for each.
• Lock down your social media privacy so only people you know can see your details and photos.
• Be suspicious of calls and texts asking for details or codes, even if they look like your bank.
• Check your statements regularly and pull your credit reports from time to time. In the US, a credit freeze is one of the strongest protections, and it's free.

Watch out for anyone promising to fix it all

When you're stressed, it's easy to fall for ads or messages promising to "clean up your credit" or "get your money back" in 24 hours for an upfront fee. We understand wanting it fixed right now, but anyone who guarantees 100% recovery for an upfront fee is usually running a second scam. In the US, reporting at IdentityTheft.gov, fraud alerts and credit freezes are all free. Before paying anyone, read how to spot recovery scams.

When to get professional help

If you only spotted a fake profile and the platform took it down, reporting it and keeping an eye on your accounts is usually enough. It's worth a professional review when money or debt is involved: loans in your name, charges your bank won't refund, a credit entry a lender refuses to remove, or contacts who paid thinking it was you. In those cases, an online scam lawyer can make a real difference.

At Kironic, we deal with scams and identity fraud every day. Send us what you have, even if it's messy: we'll review it for free, tell you what to dispute first and whether it makes sense to go further. In many cases the money is recovered, especially if you act fast. At Kironic we do everything we can to recover your money.