Someone Is Using My Address Fraudulently: What to Do
Report it to Action Fraud first and keep the crime reference number, because nearly everyone you contact afterwards will ask for it. Then get your credit reports from all three agencies, tell any lender involved in writing, and add a CIFAS protective registration.
The part almost nobody tells you at this point: you are not usually liable for credit taken out in your name by someone else. A lender that accepts an account is fraudulent has to remove it from your credit file and refund the charges. This is a process to work through, not a debt to negotiate.
At a glance
- Report to
- Action Fraud, 0300 123 2040
- Do it
- Before contacting anyone else
- Your liability for the debt
- Usually none
- Bank fraud cap
- £35 before you report it
- CIFAS registration
- £30, lasts 2 years
- Free help
- National Debtline, Citizens Advice
🛡️ Build your recovery plan
Tick what applies to you. The order below is deliberate — most of these organisations will ask for your Action Fraud reference number, so doing it in this sequence saves you making the same call twice.
Nothing ticked yet — the steps below are the ones that apply to everyone. Tick a box above to add the rest.
- 1
Report it to Action Fraud and get your crime reference number
Action Fraud — the national reporting centre for fraud
- Onlinereportfraud.police.uk
- Phone0300 123 2040
Do this second, and do it before you contact anyone else. Almost every organisation in this list — lenders, credit reference agencies, debt collectors — will ask for the crime reference number Action Fraud gives you, and without it you end up making the same call twice. It also creates the official record you'll rely on if you have to dispute anything later. Expect an update within 28 working days, though that's about the investigation, not about clearing your name; that part is on you and starts now.
Have ready: What happened and roughly when · Any account or reference numbers involved
- 2
Get all three credit reports and read every line
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion
- Experian0800 013 8888
- Equifax0800 014 2955
- TransUnion0330 024 7574
All three, not one. Lenders report to different agencies, so a fraudulent account can sit on one file and be invisible on the others — checking a single report is the most common way people miss the second and third account. You're looking for accounts you didn't open, searches you didn't authorise, and addresses linked to your name that you've never lived at. That last one matters more than it sounds: a linked address you don't recognise is often how the fraud was set up in the first place.
Have ready: Your addresses for the last six years
- 3
Add a CIFAS protective registration
CIFAS — the UK fraud prevention service
- Onlinecifas.org.uk
- Phone0330 460 9601
This puts a warning flag against your name in the National Fraud Database, so member organisations run extra identity checks before granting credit in your name. It costs £30 and lasts two years. It does not affect your credit score, and it doesn't touch accounts you already hold — but it will make your own applications slower, which is the trade-off. If someone has your details, that's usually a trade worth making. Note that not every application is checked against the database, so treat it as a strong deterrent rather than a lock.
- 4
Check you're on the electoral register at the right address
Your local council
A quick one that's worth doing while you're here. The electoral roll is one of the main ways lenders confirm you live where you say you do, and being missing from it both weakens your own applications and makes it easier for someone to claim your identity elsewhere.
- 5
Escalate if you get nowhere
Financial Ombudsman Service, or the ICO
- Financial Ombudsman0800 023 4567
- ICOico.org.uk
If a bank refuses to refund you, or a lender won't remove an entry it has accepted is fraudulent, complain to the firm first and give it eight weeks. After that — or as soon as you get a final response — take it to the Financial Ombudsman. It's free and its decisions bind the firm. Where the argument is specifically about inaccurate data staying on your credit file, the Information Commissioner's Office can also look at it. Both routes cost you nothing.
- 6
Close the door behind you
You
Change passwords on your email account first, not your banking — email is the master key, because it's where password resets land. Turn on two-factor authentication wherever it's offered. If documents were lost or stolen, report the passport or driving licence to the issuing body so it can be flagged. And set a reminder to re-check your credit reports in three months: fraudulent applications sometimes surface long after the original breach.
Contact details and process reflect Action Fraud, CIFAS, the credit reference agencies and National Debtline guidance for England and Wales. Scotland reports fraud through Police Scotland on 101 rather than Action Fraud; the rest of the process is the same. General information, not legal advice — free, independent help is available from National Debtline, Citizens Advice and StepChange.
Do the bank first if money is actually moving
There is one exception to the order above. If payments are leaving your account right now, call the bank before you do anything else — the report can wait twenty minutes.
Banks must refund unauthorised payments, and your liability is capped at £35 for anything that happens before you tell them. That cap is why speed matters more than tidiness here: the clock is the thing protecting you.
If you're worried the call you just had was itself the scam, dial 159 from a UK phone. It connects you to your own bank's fraud team, covers more than 99% of UK current accounts, and cannot be spoofed by a caller pretending to be your bank.
Why the crime reference number comes first
Everything else in the process runs through it.
The lender will ask for it. The debt collector will ask for it. The credit reference agency will ask for it when you dispute an entry. If you skip this step and start ringing round, you will end up having every conversation twice.
Report at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. You'll get a reference immediately. Action Fraud aims to update you within 28 working days, but that update is about whether the case is investigated — clearing your name is a separate job, and it's yours, starting now.
In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101 instead. The rest of the process is identical.
Check all three credit reports, not one
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion hold different data, because lenders don't all report to all three. A fraudulent account can sit on one file and be completely invisible on the others. Checking a single report is the most common way people miss the second and third account and get a nasty surprise months later.
Three things to look for:
- Accounts you didn't open — cards, loans, mobile contracts, catalogue credit.
- Searches you didn't authorise — a hard search you don't recognise means an application was made, whether or not it succeeded.
- Linked addresses you've never lived at. This one gets overlooked and it matters most. A linked address you don't recognise is often how the fraud was set up, and it will keep contaminating your file until it's removed.
Our guide to a multi-agency credit report explains how to see all three in one place, and credit scoring covers how to read what you find.
Things that don't work, and one that does
Freezing your credit file. You'll see this advice constantly, because it's copied from American articles. There is no credit freeze in the UK. The nearest equivalent is a CIFAS protective registration, which flags your details so lenders run extra identity checks. It costs £30 and lasts two years. It won't stop everything — not every application is checked against the database — and it will slow your own applications down. That's the trade.
Suing the fraudster. Also American, and near-useless here. You almost never know who they are, and if you did they'd have no money. Your remedies are the lender, the Financial Ombudsman and the ICO, and all three are free.
Paying something to make it go away. Don't. A payment, or even a written acknowledgement of the debt as yours, undermines the position you're actually in — which is that the debt was never yours. Dispute it, don't settle it.
What does work is writing to the lender, quoting the crime reference number, stating plainly that the account is fraudulent, and asking them to put it on hold while they investigate. Boring, and it's the step that resolves most cases. The recovery plan above generates the letter.
How long it takes
Longer than it should. A straightforward single fraudulent account, disputed promptly with a crime reference number attached, is often cleared in four to eight weeks. Where a lender drags, the eight-week clock to the Financial Ombudsman is what eventually moves things.
Two things make it take longer: finding the second account late, and a linked address that never gets removed. Both are avoided by doing the credit report step properly at the start rather than after the first lender has replied.
While it's unresolved, you can add a free Notice of Correction — up to 200 words on your credit file explaining that you were a victim of fraud. Any lender assessing you has to read it. It won't delete the entry, but it stops the entry speaking for itself.
Reducing the chance of it happening again
- Secure your email account first, before your banking. Email is the master key, because that's where every password reset lands.
- Deal with post properly. Return anything addressed to a name you don't know marked "not known at this address" rather than binning it — returning it is what tells the sender the address is wrong. If your own post stops arriving, ask Royal Mail whether a redirection has been set up.
- Get on the electoral register at your correct address. Lenders use it to confirm you live where you say you do, and not being on it weakens your own applications while making someone else's claim on your identity easier.
- Know what's worth protecting. Understanding what someone can do with your National Insurance number and the common Facebook Marketplace scams tells you where the real exposure is.
- Re-check your credit reports in three months. Fraudulent applications sometimes surface long after the original breach.
Frequently asked questions
Am I liable for a debt taken out in my name by a fraudster?
Not usually. You are not liable for credit taken out in your name without your authority, and once a lender confirms an account is fraudulent it must remove it from your credit file and refund any interest, charges or fees. Dispute the debt in writing with your Action Fraud reference rather than agreeing to pay anything.
Does identity fraud damage my credit score?
It can while it's unresolved, because a fraudulent account and any missed payments on it sit on your file like any other entry. Once the lender accepts it was fraud and removes it, the damage goes with it. A free Notice of Correction can explain the situation to lenders in the meantime.
Can I freeze my credit file in the UK?
No — that's a US arrangement with no UK equivalent. The closest option is CIFAS protective registration, which places a warning flag against your details so member organisations carry out extra identity checks. It costs £30 for two years and does not affect your credit score.
What is a CIFAS protective registration and is it worth it?
It flags your name in the National Fraud Database so lenders verify identity more carefully before granting credit. It's worth it if your details are known to be compromised. The downside is that your own applications get slower, and not every application is checked against the database, so treat it as a strong deterrent rather than a lock.
Someone else's post keeps arriving at my address — is that fraud?
It can be, and it's one of the earliest warning signs. Fraudsters use real addresses on applications and intercept the post. Return it unopened, marked "not known at this address", so the sender knows the address is wrong. If it keeps coming, or you find matching entries on your credit report, report it to Action Fraud.
How do I report identity fraud in Scotland?
Through Police Scotland on 101, rather than Action Fraud, which covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. You'll be given a reference number that works the same way with lenders and credit reference agencies.
What if the lender won't remove the fraudulent account?
Complain to the firm in writing and give it eight weeks. After that, or as soon as you get a final response, take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service on 0800 023 4567 — it's free and its decisions bind the firm. If the argument is specifically about inaccurate information staying on your credit file, the Information Commissioner's Office can also look at it.
How long does it take to clear my name?
A single fraudulent account, disputed promptly with a crime reference number, is often resolved in four to eight weeks. Cases drag when a second account surfaces late or a linked address isn't removed, which is why checking all three credit reports thoroughly at the start is worth the hour it takes.
- All four agencies — in one report — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion & Crediva
- Spot the errors — and old debts that quietly get applications declined
- It's a soft search — so checking never leaves a mark on your file
- See what lenders see — the same information banks pull when they assess you
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General information, not legal or financial advice. Contact details and process reflect Action Fraud, CIFAS, the credit reference agencies and National Debtline guidance and were checked in July 2026. Free, independent help is available from National Debtline, Citizens Advice and StepChange — none of them charge, and none of them will try to sell you anything.
