I am the victim of identity theft. I first became aware of it in May 2006 and immediately filed a police report for identity theft. From the victim of identity theft the process of disputing fraudulent debts on my credit reports is long and frustrating. During the first four years of becoming a victim I succeeded in getting 4 out of 4 items removed because they were opened in other states and I could prove I was living elsewhere, paying rent and utilities, showing how unlikely it would be to pay rent and utilities in 2 or 3 states at the same time. Now 7 years later a new identity theft debt popped up and a collection agency is using a law firm to sue me. Three years ago I relocated to another state and thought the identity theft stuff had ended. But apparently it didn't. Do I have to prove the debt is not mine? Or do the Plaintiff attorneys have to prove that it is mine? I have the identity theft police report from 2006 but I can't prove where I lived any longer because the apt I lived in was sold and torn down, rebuilt as condos and my bank was closed four years ago by FDIC. Isn't a police report sufficient?
In court, you both have to demand that the plaintiff and their law firm PROVE that the debt is yours; and provide documentation whether it's the police report, documentation of where you were residing when the account was opened, etc, that the debt is NOT yours. The police report is a start, but you may need to prove where you lived at that exact moment. It doesn't matter what is there now, as long as they can verify what was there, THEN. Unfortunately, ID theft becomes a lifetime problem, once your data is out there, it's out there, and anyone can come along years later and use that data to begin the process all over again.
