How to check if someone is using your identity: 8 steps to detect identity theft

How to check if someone is using your identity

It can be difficult to detect when identity theft happens, but you may still notice some warning signs. Let’s take a look at eight steps you can take to check if someone is using your identity.

1. Monitor your financial accounts and transactions

Now that almost everything’s online, it’s easy to go weeks or even months without checking your bank or credit card accounts. However, it’s really important to take a few minutes regularly to look over your statements because it’s one of the best ways to check if someone opened an account in your name. Common warning signs to look for when identity theft happens include missing bank account statements, unfamiliar accounts, and unexpected charges or withdrawals.

2. Review your credit reports

You can spot identity theft by looking at the personal section of your credit report. Reviewing your credit report from each credit bureau once a year is a good habit if you want to know if someone stole your identity. The credit file that each credit bureau provides will reveal hard inquiries or if anyone has used stolen sensitive information to submit credit applications and open new accounts in your name. You will also be able to see your credit score and whether it is lower than it should be.

3. Check your bills and mail

Unexpected bills could mean that a criminal has opened an account (perhaps several) using your name and personal or financial information stolen through fraudulent phone calls, emails, or texts to make purchases. These unpaid accounts could be sent to debt collectors and might damage your credit. 

If you see a collection notice, open it right away. Look out for mail from unfamiliar service providers as well — a criminal could have signed up for them and be racking up charges without your knowledge.

4. Verify your tax records

Tax-related identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number and personal info to file a fake tax return and steal your refund — or sometimes even to get a job. Luckily, you can watch out for some warning signs. For example, if you see unemployment benefits listed in Box 1 of a 1099-G form that you never received, it could mean someone’s using your identity.

To combat tax-related identity theft, check for tax documents you didn’t file. You can access tax records and transcripts in your Individual Online Account with the Internal Revenue Service on IRS.gov.

5. Review healthcare and insurance documents

Identity thieves also use personal information to access medical services, like doctors’ office visits and lab work. It’s important that you regularly check medical bills for unauthorized treatments or insurance claims.

It may feel like a chore going through insurance benefits, searching for unfamiliar charges for medical treatment. However, it is one way to know if someone stole your identity that could potentially spare you a lot of trouble.

6. Check your Social Security activity

Identity thieves can use your personally identifiable information (PII) to apply for Social Security benefits in your name. They can also commit synthetic identity theft, which involves stealing someone’s Social Security number and making up new information like a name and date of birth to create a new identity. Signs of identity theft include inaccurate Social Security statements and being unable to receive government benefits since your Social Security number is already being used to claim them.

To review your official Social Security earnings reports and check to see if someone is using your SSN, visit SSA.gov/MyAccount. Then you can create or sign in to your personal Social Security account to check for any unauthorized activity.

7. Look for suspicious activity on your online accounts

Another area to investigate unusual activity is your email and social media accounts. Your email and social media accounts can reveal a great deal of sensitive data if your username and password fall into the wrong hands. Regularly monitor login activity, email content, and account settings.

Email providers and social media accounts will usually inform you of unauthorized logins or password reset attempts if they catch them. Make sure to keep an eye out for these notifications.

8. Use identity theft monitoring services

Identity theft monitoring services are a great way to check if someone is using your identity. They scan online databases and the dark web for personal information like your name, financial information, and current address. They will let you know if they detect any questionable activity.

Most of the other tips in this article are free, and this one isn’t. However, identity theft monitoring services are convenient and can alert you to a wide array of activity, including things that might not show up on your credit report. 

Sometimes people might notice signs of ID theft, like a new credit or bank account opened in their name or inaccurate Social Security statements. But it’s not always obvious and may be too late, so it’s worth taking proactive measures to check if someone is using your identity.

What to do if you are a victim of identity theft

If you are a victim of identity theft, you should act quickly. Follow these steps to report identity theft: 

• Contact the fraud department of your bank and credit card issuers to report identity theft.
• Request that each credit bureau put a freeze on your credit.
• Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission and your local police department. IdentityTheft.gov is the Federal Trade Commission’s designated resource where you can file an identity theft affidavit, or you can call a toll-free number. 

You can also learn more about what to do if your identity was stolen from our guide.

How to prevent identity theft in the future

If you’ve experienced identity theft, you can report it and take steps to prevent it from happening again. If you haven’t, you can take some steps to protect yourself. Simple actions like avoiding calls from unknown numbers, using strong passwords and two-factor authentication, and protecting your data with a VPN on public Wi-Fi can go a long way.

It’s also important to be careful when sharing personal info online and to store sensitive documents, like your Social Security card, in a safe place. 

Identity theft insurance is another way to protect yourself because it can cover the costs of resolving identity theft. NordProtect offers a comprehensive identity theft protection service that includes identity theft recovery with up to $1M to cover expenses and expert support to guide you through the process. It also offers 24/7 dark web monitoring, credit tracking, fraud alerts, and more to keep you safe.