Consumer complaint received 2025-10-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Problem with a company's investigation into an existing problem — Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Company: EQUIFAX, INC.
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX, I discovered that my identity had been stolen and used to open multiple accounts and receive benefits in my name using my personal information and Social Security number. This had been occurring for years without my knowledge, as I was a XXXX mother and would not have imagined this could happen so easily. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I reported a XXXX XXXX account opened in XX/XX/XXXX as fraudulent. This is an account to which I had zero access. After the fraud report, XXXX XXXX allowed XXXX XXXX XXXX, the individual who committed fraud on multiple other accounts using my identity, to log into this account and make changes, including removing himself as an authorized user and changing the email address on file to one he created for identity theft purposes. None of the payments or transactions were made from any card with my name associated to it ; XXXX XXXX confirmed all auto payments were controlled by XXXX XXXX, the primary account holder, not me. 

XXXX XXXX claims in their letters dated XX/XX/XXXX, and XX/XX/XXXX, that the account belongs to you for the following reasons : the contact information used to open the account has been linked to you by public records and we received electronic payments from an account ending in XXXX with XXXX XXXX XXXX, that weve confirmed belongs to you. These statements directly contradict documented facts. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX confirmed that the linked account is owned and managed by XXXX XXXX and that I am not the account holder. The payments originated from the primary account under his control, not mine. 

XXXX XXXX also states in their letter that our records indicate that you have always remained Primary Owner of this account, yet their own investigation logs and login data show XXXX XXXX removed himself as an authorized user on XX/XX/XXXX, using his device and phone number, not mine. This occurred after I had reported fraud and while the account should have been frozen under investigation. Allowing the perpetrator to access and alter the account demonstrates a clear procedural failure. 

XXXX XXXX  reasoning that because my name, Social Security number, and date of birth were used, the account must belong to me is legally insufficient under the Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2 and the FTC Red Flag Rules. Their justification ignores documented evidence, login data, bank verification, and prior fraud findings on multiple accounts opened by the same individual using my identity. Their refusal to provide transaction history, login logs, or internal investigation details further violates my rights under federal identity theft law and obstructs verification of their investigation. 

XXXX XXXX has not sent this account to collections despite an outstanding balance for over a year, which raises questions about liability and whether they are attempting to avoid external review. Multiple other accounts opened fraudulently by XXXX XXXX using my personal information have already been identified by XXXX XXXX as fraudulent. There is no factual or legal distinction between those accounts and this one. 

I request that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau review XXXX XXXX failure to conduct a lawful and thorough investigation and compel them to provide all documentation necessary to verify the accounts ownership and their investigation. 

Information and Documentation Requested from Capital One : Call recordings and transcripts related to this account and fraud reports IP address logs showing all access to the account Device and location data from all login attempts Exact timestamps and records of all account logins and profile changes Documentation identifying who added or removed authorized users Copies of all monthly billing statements since the accounts creation Full copies of all documents and applications used to open the account in XXXX Verification of the address, phone number, and email used during account creation Internal fraud investigation notes, reports, and findings All evidence used to conclude that the account belongs to me Full transaction and payment history for the account Bank account details tied to auto payments, including authorization records All communications between XXXX  XXXX and XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX regarding payments Timeline of when the account was reported as fraudulent and actions taken afterward Confirmation of why the account was not immediately frozen after the fraud report on XX/XX/XXXX Explanation of why this specific account has not been sent to collections despite an outstanding balance for over a year Copies of all correspondence sent to the credit bureaus about this dispute Identification of all internal departments or individuals who handled the fraud investigation Confirmation of any outside entities or investigators XXXX  XXXX consulted or notified Record of all changes to the account including address, phone, and email made after the fraud report, including the source device or IP for each change

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation