I was just served in Michigan.
Location: Michigan
But the papers don’t match my full legal name. And I feel like I might be a victim of identity fraud. Where should I start??
I was just served in Michigan.
Location: Michigan
But the papers don’t match my full legal name. And I feel like I might be a victim of identity fraud. Where should I start??
Comments
Civil or criminal case? Either way, you probably want to start with an attorney.
DO NOT IGNORE THIS. If they’ve served you, they know where you are. And the court, at this moment, thinks you are the person they want.
If it’s civil, they’re going to find against you if you don’t show.
If it’s criminal….you don’t want the next time you get other attention of the courts to be by way of a warrant.
Have you checked your credit report? You should. Have frozen your credit with credit bureaus? You should. These would be the minimal thing to do if you are worried about identity theft.
If your credit is clean, you should absolutely fight this. They are required to demonstrate proof of debt – but if are talking about a court date there are multiple notifications you missed.
Please don’t just pay it if it’s not yours. I make a good living and have had a couple claims of debt that were for someone with a similar name to mine. I challenged the claims before they attempted to serve me, but I don’t care if it was 6 dollars- I would fight it tooth and nail. It would have been easier in the moment to just pay the demanded sum. I’m not giving anyone a dime unless I actually owe.
If you hire a lawyer, and the debt is not yours, they may be able to get the case dismissed before the court date. I would use the state bar referral service for Michigan to find the right lawyer in your area.