Financial Identity Theft

Financial identity theft occurs when an individual uses another identity to receive goods and services. A classic scenario of this is credit-dependent financial crime. In order to receive a loan, a person takes on the identity of someone else with better credit. It is relatively easy for the criminal to pretend to be the victim by presenting name, birth date, address, and other information the lender requires to establish identity. The lender does not have an easy way of discerning the applicant to be a criminal especially if a government issued id cannot be verified as in mail, online, telephone, and fax transactions. Officials do not have a way of tracking down the criminal unless there is a mailing address. The victim then is blamed for defaulting on a loan which he never sanctioned.

The Consumer credit reporting agency or Credit bureaus receive reports of cases of financial identity theft. However, the victim will probably not discover the incident until they apply for a loan, view complaints when looking at their credit history, or are hassled by collection agencies or creditors. Fortunately, the credit score can be restored if there is successful dispute of the fraudulent accounts and the record is cleared.

Account takeovers, passing bad checks, and counterfeit money orders are also considered bank fraud. If fraudulent withdrawals or checks are made against the account, a court case can be filed to retrieve lost funds. To discuss your options regarding financial identity theft, please contact a criminal defense lawyer in San Jose, California at the Law Office of Daniel Jensen (408) 296-4100.