Someone is using my identity — accounts, orders, loans in my name — who do I contact?
Three tracks at once. Report to Police — 101 / report online (999 in an emergency) (101) — the crime report is the document every bank, shop and credit agency will ask for. Tell Your bank — card and payment line and any lender or shop that contacted you, in writing, that the account or order is fraudulent — they must stop collection while they check. And ask ICO — Information Commissioner's Office (0303 123 1113) how to get a fraud alert or a note on your credit file, and how to force companies to delete data they hold "on you" that is really the fraudster's. Keep a single folder: every letter, every case number.
🗣️ What to say
"My identity has been misused since about [date]: [accounts / orders / loans] were opened in my name at [companies]. I did not do this. Police report [number]. I ask you to close the account, stop all collection, remove the entry from any credit register and confirm in writing."
🪜 Step by step
- Crime reportOnline where possible, with everything you know. Get the case number.
- Freeze what you canBank: new cards, new passwords, alerts on. Email: change the password, check forwarding rules. Phone: check for a SIM swap.
- Write to every companyFraudulent account, police number, stop collection, delete. Keep proof of sending.
- Credit fileAsk ICO — Information Commissioner's Office or the credit registers for your file and a fraud note; contest every entry that is not yours.
- Watch for a yearMail that stops arriving, unknown letters, a rejected credit check — each is a clue.
📇 All contacts
❓ Frequently asked
A debt collector says I owe money for something I never bought
Send the police report and a dispute letter; collection must stop. See the debt-collector page.
My passport or ID copy was leaked
Report it, consider a new document, and tell the register: a "lost/stolen" flag makes the copy useless for fraud.
Who pays for the loan someone took in my name?
Not you, if you did not sign and you reported it. The lender bears the risk of an unverified customer; the ombudsman decides if they insist.
📎 Sources
- Police — 101 / report online (999 in an emergency) →
- ICO — Information Commissioner's Office →
- Financial Ombudsman Service →
- Victim Support — 0808 168 9111 →
🔎 Common searches
Recognise your own search? The answer above covers all of these.
- “identity theft what to do the UK”
- “someone took a loan in my name”
- “report identity fraud the UK”
- “fraud alert credit register”
- “account opened in my name”
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