What Do I Do If Someone Opened A Loan in My Name?

How fast can financial peace disappear? Well, for one 19 year old, it happened the moment they discovered a $3,000 loan was opened in their name by someone else.So, in today's episode, I talk with someone who's panicking after finding out their personal information will use to take on a debt they never agreed to. And now they're being told they may still be responsible. While the case is being investigated, their mind is racing.Their future suddenly feels uncertain. And the scariest part, they're realizing how powerless identity theft can make you feel when you don't even know where to start.So what do you do first before fear takes over completely? That's what I'm covering on today's show. Hello, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where every day my goal is to help you break that cycle of financial shame and live with confidence. And we have got a great episode today. We're going to talk about what to do if someone opens debt in your name.Well, without further ado, let me get to today's listener voicemail question.

I just found out someone opened a $3,000 loan in my name. They had all my information, and I'm. I'm panicking.I've called the lender so many times, but they keep saying I might still be responsible while they investigate. I'm only 19, I work full time, and I can't afford this. I feel like I'm drowning right now. I don't even know where to start. Ralph, what do I do?Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks for all you do.

All right, well, first thing is stop panicking. Number one thing, stop the panic. The sky's not falling. The world's not coming to an end. We can figure this out. But I understand your fear.Identity theft is a big deal. It creates urgency. But that panic is not going to help you solve it. Having a process will. So let's figure this out together.Here's the first thing I want to tell you to do. You've got to treat this like fraud immediately. You've realized this from the beginning. There's something going on here.So you've already started the process. You've started to talk with the lender. It sounds like the lender is giving you the runaround, but continue in that process.State clearly that the loan is fraudulent. Ask the lender to start what's called a fraud investigation. Start to document that.I'm going to encourage you to keep records of every single conversation. Here's who I called. Here's. Here's the time of the call, here's the person I spoke to, here was the resolution. You can't just let this go by the side.You've got to pay attention that. Dot your I's, cross your T's and build that documentation.As you know, if you listen to the show, before I used to run a credit union, we used to deal with this all the time. So get your to get that process started.Next thing I'm going to encourage you to do and a lot of people don't think about this, I recommend doing this all the time and that is lock down your credit report. A lot of people don't do this. I actually do this myself. I lock down all three of my credit reports until I actually need to use it.And then if I'm going to go buy a car, I'm going to apply for a loan. I unlock it. It's super easy with the apps now.But if you find yourself in a position where something is being opened on your account, freeze your credit with all the major bureaus, place fraud alerts if they're appropriate and prevent additional accounts from being open up.Because that's the thing, the thing about identity theft, what usually happens is not just going to be they're going to open one account, they are going to flame your credit as quickly as they can. So if you can lock that down, you put those fraud alerts, that's going to help you.Another thing I'm going to encourage you to do is file the necessary reports. A lot of people don't think about this.File an identity theft report with the police station, with the local Police, don't call 911, call the non emergency number and say, listen, I've got the situation, I've got fraud on my account. You're probably going to get a lot of hesitation. I want somebody to take a report. So I and they'll probably say, well, someone will call you back.Great, have someone call you back. File that police report, file that report with the lender, but get a report number, a case number and document everything.That paper trail is going to matter.Because if you get to a point later where you have to dispute this, that paper trail is something you can send to the credit bureaus and say, listen, here's the police report, here's the fraud report, here's all the things I've done. This needs to come off my credit. Which leads me to the next thing. Look at your full credit report right now.This is a time right at this moment to pull all of your credit reports. I'm talking about read these things line by line. Look not only at the accounts that are open, but look at the inquiries.Look at anything on your credit report. If anything looks suspicious, get on the horn with those credit bureaus and make sure you lock down your account.Make sure you understand what's going on. Make sure there's nothing else open, unauthorized. Don't assume that this is a one off issue.Like I said, when I see identity theft happen, it usually is. They get this and they go to town with, I hate to tell you that, but it's true. But you got to stay fully engaged until it's resolved.A lot of people, they do the police report and they're like, oh, now my credit's ruined. I'm just going to throw my hands up. That's not going to help you follow up. Escalate it if necessary. Don't ignore letters or updates.Because what I have found is that resolution will finally break that fear if you have that system. But listen, this is a persistent thing. One of the big things I recommend is having identity theft protection. It's something that I use.I'm not going to give you an affiliate because I don't want to promote anybody's in particular product. But I think it's a great thing to have because this stuff happens all the time. But let's take this a little deeper. That's why you come to this show.Because what may be hitting you the hardest isn't just the money side of this, it's fear. It's that fear that something out of your control is going to derail your future. You said it. I'm 19 years old. I can't afford this, Ralph.I don't know what this is going to do to me. I get it. And that kind of fear can make your mind race and it'll make you physically ill. It can make your body panic.But that's not what God wants from you. Yes, this situation is serious, I get it. But friend, it's never bigger than God's ability to walk you through it.So before you do anything else, just answer a prayer right now. Lord, just steady my mind and help me handle this one step at a time. Because you don't have to solve everything today.You're probably not going to solve all of it today, to be very honest with you. You just need to take the next right step. Which leads me to today's win of the day.If you're going through this or you know somebody that's going through it, point them to this episode, but start a fraud log. It's really that simple.Open OneNote on your phone or your computer, buy a notebook, whatever that is, and track every single call, the date, the name, the updates, all in one place. That can be your go to sheet of here's what we did, here's when I found it, here's all the things I found. It's going to be super helpful for you.And that's a simple thing to do. Just a simple fraud log for any time this happens to you. Well, let's now get to our Bible verse for today.If you're new to the show, I always like to tie in scripture on this show. Today's comes from the Book of Psalms, chapter 46, verse 1. And this is one of those reinforcing ones.God is our refuge and strength and ever present help in trouble. Because friend, I hear what you're saying. You're in this moment of panic and uncertainty. But even now, even where you are, God is there with you.He's got his arms around you. He's present and he's steady even when everything feels chaotic and we can count on that. That's money you can take to the bank.How about we pray together right now? Heavenly Father, I want to lift up this person facing this stressful situation right now, Lord.You see their fear, you hear their fear, the confusion they feel and the panic they're carrying. So Lord, before you do anything else, bring peace to their mind. Help them to slow down, Lord.Help them to think clearly and help them to take wise action and protect them as they work through this process, Lord, give them favor with the people handling their case and help truth come to light quickly. And remind them as always, we're never alone in any of this. And you're with us every step and every tower of the way. And we ask this in Jesus name.Amen friend. I hear the panic and it gets loud. But the process we've laid out today moves you forward now maybe you're going through something as well.If you've got a story, your story matters to me. If you're walking through something like this or something similar to this, or maybe just having a financial struggle.Listen, I want to hear from you. I want to hear your voice. It's what drives me to do this show every day.Leave me a voicemail you can go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail. You hear people already leaving messages and I would love to hear yours. We'll put a link in the show notes. It's super simple.Just Click on that link, record your voice, tell me what's going on. I can edit it for you if you want to. No big deal. Everybody's voice is great.Go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail because working together, I truly believe this with every ounce of my soul. Working together, we can break this cycle of financial shame. And I can help you get to a place of confidence.I just want to thank you so much for giving me your time. Thank you for joining me along this journey. I want to encourage you today to stay financially savvy. May God bless you and you have a great day. Sam.