Credit taken out in your name by a fraudster

If a fraudster takes out a loan in your name, you are not usually liable for the money. Identity theft is where a fraudster uses your identity to get goods or services, such as a loan in your name, then withdraws the money from that loan and leaves you to pay it back¹. The debt is not yours, and the law and the ombudsman treat it that way.

What matters is speed. Tell the lender and your bank straight away, report the fraud to Report Fraud or, in Scotland, to Police Scotland on 101, and keep a record of everything. The longer a fraudulent account sits unchallenged, the more letters and demands arrive, and the harder it is to unpick.

This page explains how a fraudster gets credit in your name, what to do first, how to report it, what happens after you report, and the scams that most often end with a loan in someone else's name.

How a fraudster takes out credit in your name

Identity theft is where a fraudster uses your identity to get goods or services, such a loan in your name. They then withdraw money from that loan leaving you to pay it back¹. The same stolen details let them take out credit in your name, such as a loan or credit card, take money from your bank account, apply for benefits in your name, buy goods in your name, or obtain documents such as a driving licence or passport in your name².

Fraudsters can use your identity details to open a bank account, obtain credit cards, loans and state benefits, order goods in your name, take over your existing accounts, take out a mobile phone contract, or obtain genuine documents such as passports and driving licences in your name³. Using just a few of your personal details, criminals can apply for bank accounts, credit cards, benefits and official documents in your name⁴.

Not every case involves a stranger. Coerced debt is where a partner or family member takes out credit in your name, such as a mortgage, loan or credit card, makes you buy something on credit you did not want, puts bills in your name, does so without consent, without telling you, or after you asked them not to, or threatens you to do things⁵. That is still fraud, and it is still reportable.

The first practical check is your credit file. Request a copy of your credit file to check for any suspicious credit applications⁶. A search you do not recognise, or an account you never opened, is the clearest early sign.

Tell the lender and your bank straight away

Speak to your bank or building society straight away if you think your credit or debit card, online bank account or cheque book have been stolen or hacked⁴. If you have lost money or spotted an unauthorised transaction on your account, contact your bank immediately using the phone number on the back of your card⁵. If you think you have paid for a fake ticket or shared your financial information with a criminal, contact your bank immediately⁷.

If you receive a letter or email about a loan or card that you did not apply for, call your bank immediately⁸. Do the same with the lender named in the letter: tell them the application was not yours, ask them to freeze the account and investigate, and ask for confirmation in writing. Keep copies of every letter, email and call note.

There is a limit to what a bank can do about a loan that was never on its books. The lender that approved the fraudulent application is the one that has to unwind it, and it is the lender that would pursue the debt. That is why both need telling, and why the written trail matters.

If the debt has already been passed to a debt collector, or you are getting letters in your name from solicitors or debt collectors for debts that are not yours, that is a recognised warning sign of identity theft⁹. You can ask your bank to pay particular bills out of your account from money you have paid in, using a standard letter, if you need to keep essential payments running while the fraud is sorted out¹⁰.

Reporting the fraud: Report Fraud or Police Scotland on 101

Report Fraud is the police national fraud reporting centre¹². You can tell Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040³. In Scotland, call 101³. The service handles complaints about fraud and scams¹³.

The split is territorial. You can contact Report Fraud about fraud in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland or the fraud happened there, contact Police Scotland on 101⁴. If you think you have been the victim of a fraud in Scotland, contact Police Scotland by calling 101¹⁴. If you are in Scotland, report fraud to Police Scotland on 101¹⁵.

If you lose any money to a scam, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your bank card and report it¹⁶.

Some frauds go elsewhere. Benefit fraud, excluding Child Benefit and tax credit fraud, is reported separately, and other types of fraud such as identity theft are reported to Report Fraud¹⁷. HMRC tax fraud has its own reporting service¹⁷.

What happens after you report: reference number and police referral

Report the theft of personal documents and suspicious credit applications to the police and ask for a crime reference number⁹. That number is what lenders, banks and insurers ask for when you challenge a fraudulent account, so ask for it explicitly.

There is an important exception. If you report identity fraud, Report Fraud will create an information report instead. They will still assess your report, but they will not provide you with a crime reference number¹⁴. That is why the police route matters as well: a crime reference number comes from the police, not from the fraud reporting centre.

The Financial Ombudsman Service covers complaints about the way a financial business has dealt with a scam involving unauthorised payments, stolen details or identity theft¹. If a lender insists you owe money on a loan you never took out, and its own complaints process does not resolve it, that is the route. The ombudsman can look at how the firm handled it, and in guarantor cases it has said that where a guarantor should not have been accepted, the guarantor should usually be released from the guarantee, with any payments already made refunded with interest and information added to the credit file removed¹⁸.

Keep records of all contact and correspondence between you and the scammer¹. The immediate steps the ombudsman sets out are to contact your bank or payment services provider immediately, contact the police on 101, report the scam to Report Fraud, and keep those records¹.

Scams that lead to loans in your name

Most loans taken out in someone else's name start with a scam that harvested their details. Online scams work by contacting you and gaining your trust, then convincing you to make a payment or provide access to your accounts, setting up accounts or taking out loans in your name, or accessing your accounts directly to steal money¹⁹.

Loan fee fraud is the most direct. Loan scams are where fraudsters offer you a loan that does not exist. They approve your application, often very quickly, and then ask for an up-front fee¹⁴. Scammers often describe this fee as a deposit, insurance or admin fee and may claim it is 100% refundable²⁰. UK Finance has reported people being offered loans for an upfront fee by an individual posing as a representative of UK Finance²¹.

Romance fraud works more slowly. Requests can be anything from an emergency situation, funds for travel to come and see you, or asking you to take out a loan for them in your name²². Impersonation scams use a trusted name: your bank, the police, HMRC, or even a friend or family member²³.

Can I get alerts about known scams?

Report Fraud Alert is free and sends you alerts about fraud and scams that may affect you⁶. Set up bank alerts in your app so you know when your card has been used²⁴. Both give you an early signal, which is what matters most when a fraudulent application is in progress.

If you got a loan when you lacked capacity, get advice as soon as possible and act quickly while there is still evidence of what happened²⁵. If you lose your payment card or it is stolen, call the Payment Exception helpline so it can be blocked and a new one sent out²⁶.

Free, impartial help is available. National Debtline and Business Debtline publish guides on dealing with fraud¹. StepChange covers coerced debt and joint debts⁵. MoneyHelper explains the types of scam²⁰. If a partner or ex-partner took out a debt in your name without telling you, report it to the police²⁷.