Accounts you never opened are on your credit report.

Pull all three reports, list the exact accounts, inquiries, and addresses you do not recognize, then file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov and keep it. Use that report to ask each bureau to block the fraudulent information, and consider a fraud alert or security freeze while you work. If fraudulent items stay on your file, come back after a block request, or cause real harm, an FCRA attorney may be worth talking to.

Upload your report and Credit Hound helps separate what looks like yours from what may not be — then shows you how to challenge suspected fraud, free. If a bureau won't correct it, attorney review may be available at no cost.

Identity theft isn't your fault, and you're not alone. The hard part is when the bureaus keep reporting accounts that are not yours. That's where Credit Hound helps you organize the next step.

Which identity-theft items should you look for?

Write down what the report says before deciding what is fraudulent. Some entries are real accounts reported under a servicer's name you do not recognize.

Accounts opened on dates when you applied for nothing

Hard inquiries from lenders you never contacted

Collections for debts you have never been billed for

Addresses, employers, or name variations that are not yours

Balances or credit limits that jumped without any activity from you

What are the steps to recover from identity theft on your report?

This is the sequence most consumers follow. Keep a copy of everything at every step.

Review all three reports and identify items you do not recognize.

Report the identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov and keep the identity theft report.

Consider fraud alerts or security freezes with the bureaus.

Send an identity theft block request to each bureau reporting fraudulent information, with the required identity and theft documentation.

Contact the furnisher that reported the account and preserve every response.

Recheck your reports, and seek attorney review if fraudulent information remains, is reinserted, or causes material harm.

Fraud alert — Tells lenders to take extra steps to verify who you are before extending credit. — Early warning while you figure out how far the theft goes.

Security freeze — Restricts access to your credit file, so most new accounts cannot be opened until you lift it. — Stopping new fraudulent accounts from being opened.

Dispute — Asks the bureau to reinvestigate information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. — Any item you believe is wrong, whether or not fraud is involved.

Identity-theft block — Asks the bureau to block information resulting from identity theft, based on an identity theft report and proof of identity. — Accounts and debts that exist only because someone used your identity.

When should you contact an FCRA attorney?

Identity theft alone is not a lawsuit. What matters is how the bureaus and furnishers responded:

You sent an identity theft report and block request and the fraudulent information is still reported

A blocked or deleted fraudulent account was reinserted on your file

A furnisher kept reporting a fraudulent debt after being told it came from identity theft

The fraudulent reporting caused material harm, such as a denial or a lost opportunity

Credit Hound is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. No one can promise a case will be accepted or that any particular result will follow.