Lost I.D, apart from the Police, who do I contact?

Preff

Hi All

Was incredibly careless after a chance meeting with a friend I hadn't seen in years and lost a bag containing some very important documents.

I have reported the bag and its contents as lost to the Police, but there is certainly enough information in it to open new accounts, apply for Licenses and possibly loans etc.

My question is, who else do I need to report this to in order to protect my identity and my credit rating etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Cheers Preff

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

CIFAS for a start.

HappyMJ

You can contact the credit reference agencies to put a note on your file but it could cause a lot more problems that it will resolve. Every application for credit will be referred for more information. Basically it involves you setting a password which you will need to provide to prove you are the actual person applying for credit.

I'd just keep an eye on my credit report and if anything appears which shouldn't be there then immediately contact the company that put the entry on your credit report and find out more information.

Things that fraudsters tend to get most often are mobile phones which are very easy to sell on for cash. Loans generally only get credited to your account after a signature is obtained from a letter sent to your home address and are a bit harder to obtain.

p00hsticks

Depending on the particular documents you may need to let the appropriate organisations for the documents know - e.g. DVLA for driving licence, Passport office etc....

https://www.gov.uk/report-a-lost-or-stolen-passport

Preff

I thank you all for the advice, very useful indeed. It appears my next step is to join Experian and Equifax so I can monitor activity and applications etc. You guys are great

YorkshireBoy

Preff wrote: »

I thank you all for the advice, very useful indeed. It appears my next step is to join Experian and Equifax so I can monitor activity and applications etc.

Assuming you mean subscription services that's going to cost you a lot of money, especially if you go for CallCredit as well...£100s per year. Worth it?

eddddy

Good advice from others, and it's best to err on the side of safety.

But also bear in mind that the overwhelming majority of people are decent and honest. On finding a lost bag, they would hand it in at a police station, or attempt to contact the owner (rather than immediately thinking "Great - I'll apply for a fraudulent loan!")

Even the less honest people would probably just keep any cash from it, and throw the rest in a litter bin.

So hopefully, nothing too bad will happen.

(I guess the risk is greater, if somebody actually stole the bag from you, as it would then definitely be in the hands of a criminal. But even then, they might only be interested in cash.)

Saver-upper

I would let all your banks/credit unions/building societies know.

GingerBob_3

eddddy wrote: »

Good advice from others, and it's best to err on the side of safety.

But also bear in mind that the overwhelming majority of people are decent and honest. On finding a lost bag, they would hand it in at a police station, or attempt to contact the owner (rather than immediately thinking "Great - I'll apply for a fraudulent loan!")

Even the less honest people would probably just keep any cash from it, and throw the rest in a litter bin.

So hopefully, nothing too bad will happen.

(I guess the risk is greater, if somebody actually stole the bag from you, as it would then definitely be in the hands of a criminal. But even then, they might only be interested in cash.)

Pretty much agree with this. I would add that if possible don't carry identification documents with you. I never do. I know that as a result of under-age drinking paranoia and a host of other unnecessary requirements, especially for young people to prove who they are, a lot of people now carry identification, but it's a bad idea to do so.

Incidentally, you find a wallet with a load of money in it, what do you do?

Here's what you DON'T do: hand it in to the police. A former colleague of mine did just that, and within a day was in the cells. Without going into details, it eventually transpired that she was the victim of a scam. The police initially believed the scammer rather than my colleague!!

So what do you do? You try and repatriate it straight to the owner, anonymously. If you can't do that, send it to the police anonymously with details of where/when found etc.