Credit washing is another tactic used to try to get negative items removed from a credit report. Some agencies suggest filing a claim that you’re a victim of identity theft and that you never applied for a specific account in the first place. This can result in an immediate boost in credit score. However, this practice takes advantage of protections provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It also makes it more difficult for actual victims of identity theft to get their cases resolved since there are so many false cases to get through.