Brother stole my identity

I'm 19, just recently graduated high school, so I'm new to the game. I went right into the labor force & have been going after those factory jobs. One in perticular is a place called amazon. I've applied & have been calling to check on my application & that was when i was told that "I" already worked there. Aparrently my older brother has stolen my identity. I have found out that he took my i.d. & my birth certificate and has been working under my name for several months now. He has a long criminal past & would hate to call the police on him but i will do what is needed. I need advice please.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it's a tricky one. So your brother is probably using your social security number because if he has a criminal record, it's hard for him to get a job. How long has he been working there? Does he have a good record at work?

Theft of identity can really be consuming and sometimes it is also expensive to fix, especially if you find out that your brother also obtained any kind of credit in your name. Because it's a family member who did this complicates things a ton.

I have a couple questions for you. Have you spoken with your brother? You'll want to get a credit report for yourself to find out whether he's gotten credit in your name, too. Then, once you have that information, you should talk to your parents and your brother.


Like I said, it'll be important to get yourself a free copy of your credit so you can find out whether he's done damage to your credit. If he has done this, and has gotten any kind of credit in your name you'll want to place a fraud alert on your credit bureau so that he can't keep doing it. Also, if he did get credit in your name, you'll want to contact any creditors such as a credit card company and shut down the accounts which have been opened in your name. This is what will keep you brother from getting any further use on the account or running up a bill.


Now, comes the hard part, if you have gotten all the information together on what your brother did as far as the job, and whether he got any credit in your name (and if he got credit he probably used it), the tough choice comes as whether you choose to make a report to the police or not. Here's the thing, if you file a police report, the process will have started, and it will no longer be your choice how it proceeds, because once authorities know, they can and probably will move forward to charge your brother, whether he's family or not.


If your brother got a credit card in your name, he could agree and pay the balance. But most aren't willing to pay off balances that they have run up, and even if they say they'll pay it off, if they don't, you'll be stuck with it. The thing is, if your brother was willing to get a job and a credit card in your name, he may not be able to pay off any debt he got in your name. So if you choose to pay off the credit card yourself and it turns out that there were late payments or anything like that, it will stay on your credit report for 7 years.

Another thing that you'll need to consider unfortunately, is that if your brother was using your Social, to get this job, the employer reported income that your brother earned. They report this information to the IRS along with your Social Security number. This makes it look like you earned more than you did. If he has basically racked up a bill with the IRS, and it appears your brother isn't willing to stop doing this, then you can contact the IRS at their Identity Theft division at this number 1-800-908-4490.

Originally Posted by Legal Help

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it's a tricky one. So your brother is probably using your social security number because if he has a criminal record, it's hard for him to get a job. How long has he been working there? Does he have a good record at work?

Theft of identity can really be consuming and sometimes it is also expensive to fix, especially if you find out that your brother also obtained any kind of credit in your name. Because it's a family member who did this complicates things a ton.

I have a couple questions for you. Have you spoken with your brother? You'll want to get a credit report for yourself to find out whether he's gotten credit in your name, too. Then, once you have that information, you should talk to your parents and your brother.


Like I said, it'll be important to get yourself a free copy of your credit so you can find out whether he's done damage to your credit. If he has done this, and has gotten any kind of credit in your name you'll want to place a fraud alert on your credit bureau so that he can't keep doing it. Also, if he did get credit in your name, you'll want to contact any creditors such as a credit card company and shut down the accounts which have been opened in your name. This is what will keep you brother from getting any further use on the account or running up a bill.


Now, comes the hard part, if you have gotten all the information together on what your brother did as far as the job, and whether he got any credit in your name (and if he got credit he probably used it), the tough choice comes as whether you choose to make a report to the police or not. Here's the thing, if you file a police report, the process will have started, and it will no longer be your choice how it proceeds, because once authorities know, they can and probably will move forward to charge your brother, whether he's family or not.


If your brother got a credit card in your name, he could agree and pay the balance. But most aren't willing to pay off balances that they have run up, and even if they say they'll pay it off, if they don't, you'll be stuck with it. The thing is, if your brother was willing to get a job and a credit card in your name, he may not be able to pay off any debt he got in your name. So if you choose to pay off the credit card yourself and it turns out that there were late payments or anything like that, it will stay on your credit report for 7 years.

Another thing that you'll need to consider unfortunately, is that if your brother was using your Social, to get this job, the employer reported income that your brother earned. They report this information to the IRS along with your Social Security number. This makes it look like you earned more than you did. If he has basically racked up a bill with the IRS, and it appears your brother isn't willing to stop doing this, then you can contact the IRS at their Identity Theft division at this number 1-800-908-4490.

thanks so much! No i don't speak to my brother we live in the same house but I have not "spoken" to him since we were pre-teens for many reasons. He has a terrible record at work he is a theif. Oh and best believe once i get all my information together my brother will rot in jail for all I care. Ty again.

Of course, anytime. Like I said, if you're not against alerting the authorities, it will be a good idea to get some information together and hopefully you'll be able to resolve this quickly.

What state are you located in? Or are you located in a major metropolitan area? Because if you need any help regarding what kinds of free legal advice you can get from a local attorney, let me know and I'll pass some resources your way.