How to file a fraud police report

This system is for reporting Financial Crimes only. Our goal is to have your case reviewed by a Financial Crimes Investigator as soon as possible. Cases are prioritized depending on whether or not suspects, and their locations, are known at the time the report was filed.

Please be patient and an Investigator will contact you soon. Actual police reports are not released since they may contain information critical to an investigation or which could be used for identity theft.

Verification letters may be provided by the records room or your investigator. No, your crime or incident must have occurred in Fairfax County, VA. If the incident happened outside Fairfax County, VA, file a report in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. The only exception to this rule is Identity Theft. As an example, if you reside in Fairfax County and your personal information was used fraudulently outside Fairfax County, we will generate an Identity Theft case for you for reporting purposes only.

For fraud conducted via the internet, including scams delivered by spam and phishing websites, and your local police may not be able to take your report if you don't know where the scam occurred.

For example, if someone steals your identity and opens up a credit card in another state, you'd have to contact the police in that state; on the other hand, if everything was done online and you don't know where the scammer is located, police jurisdiction might be harder to determine.

Contacting the FTC is the first step in this situation. Keep copies of all reports you file, both with the police and with the FTC, as they may be needed again to combat new or reappearing fraudulent charges. You may want to provide copies to the credit reporting bureaus as part of your fraud alert file.

If you've experienced fraud, your first step is to protect your finances by putting a fraud alert on your credit report and freezing or closing your bank accounts and credit cards. You can freeze your account by contacting your bank. To place a fraud alert on your credit report, contact one of the three credit reporting companies — Experian, TransUnion or Equifax.

After you've secured your accounts and credit, report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission, then file a police report. You'll have to fill out an application form to replace your license or other photo identification. When you complete the form and pay any fees, you'll receive your new license. You also may need to get a new photo taken, especially if you're requesting a different license number. Method 3. Put a fraud alert or freeze on your credit reports. A fraud alert advises potential creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name.

A freeze prevents any additional credit accounts from being opened. Requesting one from any of the 3 credit bureaus means the alert will automatically be placed on all of your credit reports. A credit freeze must be done through each of the 3 credit bureaus separately. Although you typically have to pay a fee, that fee may be waived if you provide a copy of your police report to show you are a victim of identity theft. If the thief has already attempted to open new credit accounts in your name, a freeze may offer you more protection than a fraud alert.

Close all accounts that have been accessed. When you find out a particular account has been accessed by an identity thief, take action immediately to shut down that account so that they can't access it again.

Request that your account be locked or closed. They also may issue you new debit or credit cards, or a new account number. Some banks and lenders require a copy of your police report if you want to take other actions, such as disputing fraudulent charges.

Put your name on your state's identity theft database. Some states, including California, have identity theft databases. These databases protect you if someone who stole your identity commits a crime in your name. Law enforcement agencies serving warrants will take additional steps to verify your identity.

Change your passwords and PINs. If you believe your identity was stolen as the result of a hack or an online transaction, immediately create new passwords for all of your financial accounts online. Use a random combination of letters, numbers, and special characters if possible that isn't easy to guess. Report potential tax identity theft to the IRS. If your Social Security number has been compromised or stolen, the thief can use it to get a job or tax refund.

You will get a notice from the IRS if two returns are filed under your Social Security number, which indicates potential tax identity theft. Fill it out and follow the instructions on the form to submit it to the IRS. Continue to file your own taxes as you normally would. Contact your state consumer protection office. Your state's consumer protection office, typically part of your state's Secretary of State office, has resources that can help you dispute transactions, deal with creditors, and recover from identity theft.

With so many kinds of scams, it's hard to figure out where to report each type. Start by reporting the scam to your state consumer protection office.

If you lost money or other possessions in a scam, report it to your local police too. You can report scams to the federal government. Your report may keep others from experiencing a scam. Government agencies use reports of scams to track scam patterns.

They may even take legal action against a company or industry based on the reports. Do not use the contact information included in scam messages.