Call them on the phone and tell them that you think someone has opened an account in your name. Also, get ahold of Experian and Equifax (the other two reporting bureaus). If it does turn out that someone opened an account in your name, it’s not the end of the world (although it’s going to be a hassle for a while).

Whenever a company has records on you, you have the right to see them and even obtain a copy. When you finally do get a copy of your credit report, any accounts you have ever taken out in the last 7 years – including fraudulent ones – will be on that report. This will usually include the name of the company, contact info, the account number, how much you owe, and the status of the account (current, delinquent, etc.).

Contact the company with the fraudulent account and tell them you want to clear up the matter (and your credit report). American Express is excellent at this and usually will just do it over the phone. Others companies, not so much. Some will require that you file a police report and send them a copy in order for them to clear the account. Others make you file an affidavit form that’s more difficult to fill out than the original credit forms they have. But, you can obtain copies of the form whoever filled out to get the card, the names of all people who were authorized to use the account, and copies of account statements, which may include the name and address of the fraud who committed the crime.

Whatever they require, do it. Save all copies and follow up with subsequent phone calls to verify that they have notified the credit bureaus to remove the account report. When you do find a fraudulent account on your credit report, contact the credit bureaus again and ask how you attach a warning on your account that you have been a fraud victim. This will be a requirement that anyone issuing credit in your name over the next year must call you personally to verify that you have requested the account.

Don’t expect to get much help from law enforcement authorities, though. When I had an ex girlfriend take out a bunch of credit accounts in my name and charge up a bunch of fraudulent charges, I spent the next year reporting her (along with forms she filled out in my name and copies of the account statements) to San Diego law enforcement, Kern County law enforcement (where she lived), the Kern County District Attorney, the Postmaster Genreral (the cards were sent in the mail), the Social Security Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI (the issuing bank was out of state), and even the Secret Service.

Interestingly enough, the ones who were the most interested were the Secret Service. However, they have limits of how much a person defrauds credit companies before they’ll go after the person. And, I didn’t have proof that she hit the $15,000 fraud limit for San Diego County.

Good luck. And, welcome to the wonderful world of identity theft.