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The Lynnwood Police Department is committed to aggressively pursuing and investigating crimes of identity theft perpetrated against the citizens of Lynnwood. Our goal in these types of cases is to identify, locate, and arrest the suspect(s) using your identity fraudulently. The Crimes Against Property unit within the Criminal Investigations Division investigates crimes of Identity Theft.
Although our primary mission is to bring the perpetrator to justice, we hope the following information is useful to you in trying to put your financial affairs back together after the impact of having your identity stolen.
"Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number, credit card number, or other identifying information, without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes." - from the FTC's Web site on Identity Theft
A key point to remember is that a financial loss does not need to be realized by the victim for the crime to have occurred.
- Report the crime to the police immediately.
- Immediately call all your credit card issuers. Get replacement cards with new account numbers. Ask that the old accounts be processed as "account closed at consumer's request."
- Call the fraud units of the three credit reporting companies:
EQUIFAX
www.equifax.com
Report fraud: 800 525-6285
Order copy of report:
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
or call 800 685-1111
EXPERIAN
www.experian.com
Report fraud: 888 397-3742
By FAX 800-301-7196
By mail: Experian Consumer (formerly TRW)
Fraud Assistance, P.O. Box 1017, Allen, TX 75013-0949
TRANS UNION
www.tuc.com
Report Fraud: 800 680-7289
Order copy of report:
P.O. Box 390, Springfield, PA 19064
or call 800 916-8800
- Report the theft of your credit cards or numbers. Ask that your accounts be flagged. Also add a victim's statement to your request (i.e. "My ID has been used to apply for credit fraudulently. Contact me at 555-1234 to verify all application.")
- Notify your bank(s) of the theft. Cancel your accounts and obtain new account numbers.
- To prove your innocence, you may be required to fill out fraud affidavits with banks or credit issuers.
- If you use an ATM card for banking services, get a new card, account number and password.
- If you have had checks stolen or bank accounts set up fraudulently, report it to TeleCheck (800-710-9898), or Equifax (800-437-5120). Additionally, to report the fraudulent use of your checks, contact the International Check Services: 800-526-5380
- Notify your local Postal Inspector (206) 442-6300, if you suspect mail theft.
- If your social security number was used fraudulently, report the problem to the social Security Administration's Fraud Hotline at 800-269-0271.
- If fraudulent charges appear on your account, call the Consumer Credit Counseling Service at 800-388-2227 for help in clearing false claims from your credit report.
- If your credit card is used fraudulently on the Internet, follow the same guidelines you would for any credit card theft.
The statutes that govern Identity Theft reside in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) under section 9. You can find these at the Washington State Legislature's search page: http://search.leg.wa.gov/pub/textsearch/default.asp
They read as follows:
Definitions, RCW 9.35.005
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
- "Financial information" means any of the following information identifiable to the individual that concerns the amount and conditions of an individual's assets, liabilities, or credit:
(a) Account numbers and balances;
(b) Transactional information concerning an account; and
(c) Codes, passwords, social security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's license or permit numbers, state identicard numbers issued by the department of licensing, and other information held for the purpose of account access or transaction initiation.
- "Financial information repository" means a person engaged in the business of providing services to customers who have a credit, deposit, trust, stock, or other financial account or relationship with the person.
- "Means of identification" means information or an item that is not describing finances or credit but is personal to or identifiable with an individual or other person, including: A current or former name of the person, telephone number, an electronic address, or identifier of the individual or a member of his or her family, including the ancestor of the person; information relating to a change in name, address, telephone number, or electronic address or identifier of the individual or his or her family; a social security, driver's license, or tax identification number of the individual or a member of his or her family; and other information that could be used to identify the person, including unique biometric data.
- "Person" means a person as defined in RCW 9A.04.110.
- "Victim" means a person whose means of identification or financial information has been used or transferred with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity.
Identity theft, RCW 9.35.020
- No person may knowingly obtain, possess, use, or transfer a means of identification or financial information of another person, living or dead, with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any crime.
- Violation of this section when the accused or an accomplice uses the victim's means of identification or financial information and obtains an aggregate total of credit, money, goods, services, or anything else of value in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars in value shall constitute identity theft in the first degree. Identity theft in the first degree is a class B felony punishable according to chapter 9A.20 RCW.
- Violation of this section when the accused or an accomplice uses the victim's means of identification or financial information and obtains an aggregate total of credit, money, goods, services, or anything else of value that is less than one thousand five hundred dollars in value, or when no credit, money, goods, services, or anything of value is obtained shall constitute identity theft in the second degree. Identity theft in the second degree is a class C felony punishable according to chapter 9A.20 RCW.
- A person who violates this section is liable for civil damages of one thousand dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater, including costs to repair the victim's credit record, and reasonable attorneys' fees as determined by the court.
- In a proceeding under this section, the crime will be considered to have been committed in any locality where the person whose means of identification or financial information was appropriated resides, or in which any part of the offense took place, regardless of whether the defendant was ever actually in that locality.
- The provisions of this section do not apply to any person who obtains another person's driver's license or other form of identification for the sole purpose of misrepresenting his or her age.
- In a proceeding under this section in which a person's means of identification or financial information was used without that person's authorization, and when there has been a conviction, the sentencing court may issue such orders as are necessary to correct a public record that contains false information resulting from a violation of this section.
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