Cook Law is an experienced identity theft attorney St Charles and has extensive experience in navigating identity theft cases. They work tirelessly to hold identity thieves accountable and all other parties. Our attorneys have a track record of success in helping victims recover their credit, reputation, and good name after identity theft has occurred.
Contact an identity theft attorney immediately if your identity has been stolen. Our lawyers at Cook Law may be able help you recover financial losses or other damages depending on your case.
An identity theft lawyer from Cook Law LLC will help you make all the necessary steps to clear up the situation. It is important to take the right steps, and include valid proof, because if credit bureau agencies continue reporting fraudulent information after your dispute, it may be enough to file a lawsuit against credit report agencies for the damages you had suffered because of the fraudulent information being reported on your credit reports.Results Matter
$425,000 WON
ID Theft/Mixed File Case
$420,000 WON
ID Theft Case
$325,000 WON
Mixed File Case
$200,000 WON
Mixed/Merged File Case
“Past results provide no guarantees for future outcomes. Each case is different and must be judged on its own merits.”
Contact our St Charles Identity Theft Attorneys to Schedule a Free Case Evaluation
Identity theft can be divided into six types, which typically include the following:
It is important to call an identity theft attorney St Charles in order to mitigate some of the damage done. In many cases, there are multiple areas that need to be addressed in order to properly compensate for the damages.
Why Hire Us?
Hiring an identity theft attorney St Charles can help in the recovery of stolen assets. Recovery of stolen assets and money is usually the primary concern of the individual. It can be difficult to repair any other damage done by identity theft such as damaged credit scores or reputations. Police have found it increasingly difficult to identify the identity of the thieves due to the increase in digitally accessible information, leaving many victims without any legal recourse.
If the police are unable to assist, it is important that you contact an identity theft attorney such as Cook Law to discuss your options. If you have noticed that you are mistakenly reported as deceased on your credit report, contact us today.
Cook Law has access to top-level experts in their fields, including private investigators or forensic accountants who might be able to help determine when and by whom your identity was stolen. Our St Charles identity theft attorney will review your case details, including both information gathered by our experts as well as your accounts to determine if a third party is liable.
For example, if a previous employer allowed your personally identifiable information to be leaked to the public. If your case succeeds, you might be able to recover financial compensation, restore your reputation and reestablish credit.
Contact A Dedicated Credit Lawyer
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If you or a loved one are one of the thousands of people in the U.S. that have been mistakenly reported as deceased, the credit dispute lawyers at Cook Law, LLC have you covered! Get in touch with an attorney today to receive your free consultation. Simply click one of the buttons below to contact a credit report attorney near you!
CHICAGO, IL
2800 N Lake Shore Dr UNIT 4115 Chicago, IL 60657
St. Charles, MO
2025 S Brentwood Blvd Ste 201 Brentwood, MO 63144
What should I do if my identity has been stolen?
To learn more about your rights and options, first contact Cook Law, an experienced identity theft attorney. It is difficult to prove identity theft beyond a reasonable doubt due to a lack of sufficient evidence. This is often due to standard business policies. Sometimes, businesses are unable to get the evidence they need, such as receipts or surveillance, and may not have physical contact with the identity thief.
Many transactions are established digitally or remotely making it hard to pin down an actual individual. It is important to contact an experienced attorney specializing in identity theft. This will help you complement the government’s investigation. Our lawyers have access to resources and experts that the police and government may not be able to access, which can dramatically increase your chances for recovering compensation.
In some cases, you may be experiencing a mixed credit file and not necessarily an identity theft case. Be sure to check with us to go through your report step by step.
Can an Identity Theft Attorney St. Charles County Help Me Sue For Compensation?
An identity theft attorney St. Charles county can help obtain compensation for damages. Everyone would love to sue the person who stole their identity, but it is difficult to locate these thieves. If the actual thief is not identifiable or located, you might be able file suit against another party based on their negligence. These parties typically include those who have access to your credit card number, social security number, or other personally identifiable information.
- Banks
- Other financial institutions
- Creditors
- Government entities
- Employers
Depending on the facts surrounding the identity theft case, the type of liability that each party is liable for will differ.
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What can I sue for?
There are many theories of liability for identity theft due to the multiple ways that an identity can be stolen. The type of identity theft that you were the victim of and the facts specific to your case will determine the type of claim you can file. These are some possible causes for action.
- Negligence
- Invasion of privacy
- Publication of private facts
- Breach of fiduciary obligation
- Infliction or repercussions of emotional distress
- Breach of contract
It is crucial to give as much information as possible to your identity theft attorney St. Charles County when you first provide details about your stolen identity. A theory of liability can be made actionable by the smallest detail. Your attorney should have all relevant information to your case in order to help determine the best path to recovery.
There may be multiple forms of compensation for victims depending on the circumstances, the extent of the injury and the intended defendant. These include:
- Compensation damages for financial loss incurred due to the theft
- If the victim suffered from emotional distress such as depression or anxiety, could be eligible for damages .
- Punitive damages could be available if the victim’s personal data was deliberately or recklessly made public.
- Injunctive Relief to release the victim from any owing debts that they didn’t accrue.
You may be able to sue a variety of people if your identity has been stolen. Contact us to learn more about your legal rights and how our identity theft lawyers may be able help you. If you are in the Chicago area and need help from our Identity Theft Lawyer Chicago, please feel free to give us a call and we will help you as soon as we can!
What Does An Identity Theft Attorney Do?
Identity theft occurs when somebody uses your personal information like name, address, Social Security Number (SSN), bank or credit card account number or any other identifying information without your consent or knowledge to open accounts, deceit or commit fraud. An Identity Theft Attorney can help you navigate this unpleasant situation.
It can be unpleasant to be a victim of identity theft because you have to deal with a complex array of legal challenges, filing the appropriate police report or identity theft report with a Federal Trade Commission, placing a credit freeze on your credit reports, or lodging credit bureau disputes. You might need to take up all these challenges to clean up your good name.
You Can Prevent Identity Theft
There are certain measures you can take to prevent being a victim of identity theft. Here are some tips from an experienced Identity Theft Lawyer of Cook Law LLC on how to protect yourself. The most important thing is to be cautious with your personal identifying information.
- You should check your credit report regularly. Often you check the better. Try to do it at least every month. Thoroughly review your credit report. You should be able to identify all the items and activities contained in your credit report. Accounts or activities that you are not familiar with are indications of a mistake or even identity theft.
- When using your credit card, always keep it in sight. Don’t let anyone take your credit card away when paying. For example, when paying at a restaurant, a waiter should bring a POS terminal to you, not take your credit card away, and then come back with a receipt. Every time your credit card is used by someone else, you could become a victim of skimming. Information on a credit card can be stolen in a second with a device called a skimmer.
- Keep your mailbox locked and empty it daily. Don’t give thieves a chance to get to your mail that contains your personal information.
- Get a shredder and shred all the utility bills, credit card statements, solicitations, and all the other documents that contain your personal financial information. If you don’t have a shredder, at least tear up all the papers with your personal information before you throw them away. Leave nothing to “dumpster divers”.
When you are a victim of identity theft, there are several steps to be taken to prevent further damage. The first thing to do is to contact your Identity Theft Lawyer at Cook Law. Next, contact companies and financial institutions where the identity theft occurred.
You have to explain your situation and ask them to close or freeze the accounts that have been compromised. If you don’t do this they will proceed to send you bills and report delinquent payment rates. They may even file a lawsuit against you for delinquent payment rates.
Contact Federal Trade Commission And Local Police Department
You need to file a report to the local police department and make a paper trail that might be useful in the future if your situation leads to a lawsuit. Go to the police with any proof you have on identity theft (bills, IRS notices, etc).
Police may not be successful in finding the perpetrator of the identity theft, but your goal is to have a police report filed. Remember to ask for a copy of the report filed. Your Identity Theft Attorney will need a copy of the report to use in court to help you receive compensation.
Also, you should contact the Federal Trade Commission and file a report about your situation. You can do that online if you visit www.identitytheft.gov. Include as many details as possible. Based on this information your Identity Theft Report will be created and a recovery plan developed.
This Identity Theft Report guarantees you certain rights and proves to businesses you are a victim of identity theft.
Write Dispute Letters To All Three Credit Report Agencies
When your identity has been stolen, you have the right by the Fair Credit Report Act to remove fraudulent information from your credit reports. To do so you have to write dispute letters to all three credit report agencies. Explain which information in your credit report came from identity theft and ask them to block that information.
If you have your FTC Identity Theft Report, credit bureaus are required to honor your request to block information. Once fraudulent information is blocked credit bureaus must not include it in your credit report anymore. Also, companies cannot try to collect the debt. Our Identity Theft Attorney at Cook Law can help walk you through this process.
In order to resolve problems caused to you by identity theft, you can ask credit report agencies to put a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert requires potential creditors to verify your identity when issuing new credit in your name.
This will prevent anyone with your personal information from using them. A fraud alert lasts for one year. You can also ask for an extended fraud alert to be put on your credit report which lasts for seven years.
Credit Freeze is another measure that can help further misuse of your personal information. It prevents any prospective creditor from accessing your credit report without your consent. It lasts until you remove it. It is free of charge to place it and to remove it.
Do You Need An Identity Theft Lawyer?
It can be tricky to deal with a situation involving identity theft. There are so many things to do in order to clear up the situation. Often stolen identity results in the plunge of your credit score. Although it is not your fault, it is your credit score and you have to deal with the situation. All the measures that have to be taken you can take yourself. But consider having the assistance of an identity theft lawyer. Here is why.
Sometimes not everything goes smoothly with credit report agencies. Disputing fraudulent information may result differently than you would expect. You may be denied getting your Identity Theft Report due to a lack of proof provided in your dispute letters.
It could happen to you just because you are inexperienced in correspondence with three major credit bureaus and you don’t understand clearly which steps you need to take in which order. That’s why it is important to have an experienced identity theft lawyer working on your case. Someone who has no doubts about what has to be done and how.
Don't Be a Victim
When you are a victim of identity theft there is a lot at stake. At least for you. You can’t afford to fail when disputing fraudulent information. Credit report agencies work at a slow but steady pace, so the process of blocking fraudulent information can take some time.
An identity theft lawyer from Cook Law LLC can help you to avoid mistakes in this process and make your credit report free of fraudulent information in the shortest possible time.
At Cook Law LLC we can offer you all the services an identity theft lawyer could provide and give you peace of mind in a situation that can be nerve-racking for you. Creditors and businesses that are trying to collect what they believe you owe them can be impatient and file a lawsuit against you. If the situation when your identity is stolen escalates this way, you should definitely have an identity theft lawyer hired to help you clear your good name.