What do I do if my identity has been stolen and used for fraud?
Act immediately: alert your bank, place a fraud alert with credit agencies, report to police, and notify any organisations where accounts were opened fraudulently.
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
Explanation
Identity theft recovery involves several parallel steps. First, contact your bank and credit card providers to flag your accounts and request enhanced monitoring. Second, obtain your credit report and identify every fraudulent account or hard search. Third, contact each lender where a fraudulent account exists and report it to their fraud team — they will freeze the account and investigate. Fourth, place a fraud alert or protective registration with the main credit reference agencies, which makes future applications in your name require additional verification. Fifth, file a report with your national fraud authority and obtain a crime reference number, which you will need for lender disputes. Recovery can take months, but most fraudulent debts are removed once fraud is substantiated.
Treat recovery as a project with a paper trail. Keep a single log of every call, reference number, and letter, because months later you may need to prove to a new lender or debt collector that a given account was already established as fraudulent. Be prepared for the same debt to resurface when it is sold on to another collection agency — a short letter with your crime reference number and the original lender's fraud outcome usually closes it down. Finally, work out how your details were obtained if you can, and close that door: a compromised email account, reused password, or intercepted post left unfixed invites a second round.
Common red flags
- Accounts or credit applications you do not recognise on your credit report
- Debt collectors contacting you about debts you know nothing about
- You were rejected for credit despite having a good history
- Mail arriving for you at a different address or mail you expected not arriving
What to do now
- Alert all your banks and financial providers immediately
- Place a fraud alert with all major credit reference agencies
- File a crime report with your national fraud or police authority
- Dispute every fraudulent account with the lender's dedicated fraud team
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to clear my credit file after identity theft?
Each fraudulent account must be disputed individually and can take weeks to months. However, lenders are required to mark disputed accounts as under investigation, which reduces the immediate credit impact while the case is resolved.
Should I keep monitoring my credit file after the fraud is resolved?
Yes. Check your report at least every few months for the following year or two. Fraudsters often retry with details they already hold, and early detection turns a major cleanup into a single phone call.