Victim of Identity fraud

Randoms333 · 2025-02-06T21:26:07+00:00

Hi all, Recently, someone hacked into my Jacamo account and maxed out the my credit limit. Been dealt with internally with Jacamo. Is there a certain limit of time when I should hear back from them??? I'm really anxious about it and not sure what process I need to follow. I've been trying to monitor my credit reports, can I set up passwords if I don't pay for the monthly subs on Equifax, TU and Experian??? Can I still report to action fraud if I don't have any confirmation of fraud??? Also, as for the CIFAS registration - is this necessary? Anybody had experience of this protective register, worried about the reviews on trust pilot and the problems people have had with taking out their own credit. I'm really struggling with the anxiety of this and been off work. Can anybody give me guidance??? Thanks[smile]

Throwaway0912 · 07/02/2025 01:56

I work in a different area to online retail so the timings may be different, but you should get an initial holding response from them within a day or so. They then need to investigate your complaint and the timelines for this can be anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks. Investigating fraud can be quite complex so it can take some time, you've not been forgotten about though so please don't worry. You don't necessarily need to do anything at this stage as they have set processes they must follow.

You don't need to pay for subs, use the free account checkers like check my file. You're at a higher risk of repeated fraud the closer to the original fraud happening, so monitor regularly or set up alerts.

The CIFAS register is really useful especially if you've been a victim of fraud and I personally would recommend taking the protective registration and also allowing the company to place the victim of fraud marker on your file when they've completed their investigation.

Having the registration will make getting credit more time consuming but that's the best protection you have of preventing repeated fraud. Once the CIFAS marker is on there, for the majority of companies it will put a stop on your application and make sure a human looks at it. You might be asked for additional verifications to make sure it's you - like a phone call to complete security questions, sending a photo of you with your ID documents, two factor authentication, or asking you to sign documents by post rather than online.

You can, of course, choose not to have the CIFAS marker on your file but the main element of it (in the case of victim/protective registration) is to protect you as a consumer and ultimately the business you're lending from. If you have a fraud CIFAS where you're the person who's committed the fraud, then that's a different story and it makes getting credit infinitely more difficult. They're very different and very clear to lenders though so nobody will get mixed up by them and they'll know you're the innocent party by the type of marker.

It's horrible when it happens so I understand how anxious you feel. Companies hate fraud too, believe me! So they will - and have to - take it seriously and work to get a resolution for you.

If there's anything you'd like to double check that I've not covered, please ask, but I hope that's helped a little to set your mind at rest.

Original poster

Randoms333 · 08/02/2025 17:53

Throwaway0912 · 07/02/2025 01:56

I work in a different area to online retail so the timings may be different, but you should get an initial holding response from them within a day or so. They then need to investigate your complaint and the timelines for this can be anywhere from 2 - 8 weeks. Investigating fraud can be quite complex so it can take some time, you've not been forgotten about though so please don't worry. You don't necessarily need to do anything at this stage as they have set processes they must follow.

You don't need to pay for subs, use the free account checkers like check my file. You're at a higher risk of repeated fraud the closer to the original fraud happening, so monitor regularly or set up alerts.

The CIFAS register is really useful especially if you've been a victim of fraud and I personally would recommend taking the protective registration and also allowing the company to place the victim of fraud marker on your file when they've completed their investigation.

Having the registration will make getting credit more time consuming but that's the best protection you have of preventing repeated fraud. Once the CIFAS marker is on there, for the majority of companies it will put a stop on your application and make sure a human looks at it. You might be asked for additional verifications to make sure it's you - like a phone call to complete security questions, sending a photo of you with your ID documents, two factor authentication, or asking you to sign documents by post rather than online.

You can, of course, choose not to have the CIFAS marker on your file but the main element of it (in the case of victim/protective registration) is to protect you as a consumer and ultimately the business you're lending from. If you have a fraud CIFAS where you're the person who's committed the fraud, then that's a different story and it makes getting credit infinitely more difficult. They're very different and very clear to lenders though so nobody will get mixed up by them and they'll know you're the innocent party by the type of marker.

It's horrible when it happens so I understand how anxious you feel. Companies hate fraud too, believe me! So they will - and have to - take it seriously and work to get a resolution for you.

If there's anything you'd like to double check that I've not covered, please ask, but I hope that's helped a little to set your mind at rest.

Thank you for such a detailed response. Just one more thing regarding the incident. Do I need to report this to Action Fraud still?

OP posts:

Throwaway0912 · 08/02/2025 20:05

Randoms333 · 08/02/2025 17:53

Thank you for such a detailed response. Just one more thing regarding the incident. Do I need to report this to Action Fraud still?

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You're welcome!

You can do, but if the company are investigating it's not strictly necessary. It won't hurt to report to them though, especially if for any reason you think the company aren't/won't dealing with it for you.