An employee for the company that I have worked for for over 20 years took my personal information they have access to and opened an online account in my name using my personal information SS# DOB etc to run a credit report on me. I did not give authorization for this to happen and have concrete evidence to prove it. AGAIN, THIS REPORT WAS NOT RUN DIRECTLY FROM THE EMPLOYER, THIS ACCOUNT WAS CREATED PRETENDING TO BE ME TO GET A "FREE" CREDIT REPORT. The problem I am having is that this particular employee is closely related to the owner of the company. I want to bring charges against this person but if I do, I will most likely be fired. Because of the at-will laws, do I have any protection from being fired? It is a private sector employer. PLEASE HELP if you can.
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Employee Stole My Identity and I may be Fired
- Thread Starter mahit
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The first question is how do they have access to this information. If they are management (even a supervisor) then you would be able to sue the company.
This is a sticky situation, and with the at will laws, you may be screwed either way. However you also still need to take action, because the bigger quesiton is why did this person do this? Since you are only able to get your credit report once per year for free, then they may be planning to commit identity theft, and did this as a way to block you from getting your report.
The problem right now is that just pulling your credit report won't mean much in the whole grand sceme of things. It's illegal for them to have done this the way they did, but in the end there' s not going to be much in the way of consequences overall. Unfortunatly you may have to wait until they try to open something, then go from there since that would carry a bigger bite.
I would start by contacting the police though. At least just let them get this on record. Also irf you let them know the situation they can proceed and not let the company know where the evidence came from.
Also you may still want to talk to the owner of the compnay. He may not be aware that this happened, and as I said, his compnay could be held liable for damamges to you.
This is a sticky situation, and with the at will laws, you may be screwed either way. However you also still need to take action, because the bigger quesiton is why did this person do this? Since you are only able to get your credit report once per year for free, then they may be planning to commit identity theft, and did this as a way to block you from getting your report.
The problem right now is that just pulling your credit report won't mean much in the whole grand sceme of things. It's illegal for them to have done this the way they did, but in the end there' s not going to be much in the way of consequences overall. Unfortunatly you may have to wait until they try to open something, then go from there since that would carry a bigger bite.
I would start by contacting the police though. At least just let them get this on record. Also irf you let them know the situation they can proceed and not let the company know where the evidence came from.
Also you may still want to talk to the owner of the compnay. He may not be aware that this happened, and as I said, his compnay could be held liable for damamges to you.
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They are part of the management. They did not just get a free credit report one time. They have been paying for this account for 2 1/2 years. I understand it is a federal offense to obtain someones credit under false pretense. I really do not have a desire to sue them, I would like to report her to authorities, her no longer be employed, and I keep my job. Problem is she is the owners mother in law. I have been there for over 23 years and I am the VP but regardless of my position, I cannot fire her myself. I doubt this was an "identity theft issue". It was more of a way to get my credit without first authorizing it by me.
It gets even stickier.
With all of that I would go to the police. Explain things to them, but let them know that you don't want them to inform you employer who gave them the info. You can tell your employer (if the need arises) that you found out someone pulled your credit report, and if they do arrest the mother-in-law, then let them think the police did good detective work.
You still need to be asking yourself why the would want to see your credit report at all.
With all of that I would go to the police. Explain things to them, but let them know that you don't want them to inform you employer who gave them the info. You can tell your employer (if the need arises) that you found out someone pulled your credit report, and if they do arrest the mother-in-law, then let them think the police did good detective work.
You still need to be asking yourself why the would want to see your credit report at all.
I went to my boss and told him what she did and that I wasn't sure I could be able to work with her anymore. He said he didn't want to lose me, yada yada, then went out of town, leaving me to run things as usual. She apologized and her reason was "curiousity". I am under the impression that, as I suspected, he wants to sweep this under the rug and hope I get over it. I am not sure I can. I also don't want to lose my job if I turn her in. If I turn her in, he will fire me. What are my rights if he does fire me? Am I screwed? I have been employed for 23 years and have been more than loyal. I am just appauled that Texas doesn't have rights to protect employees..just crazy. If anyone happens to know if I can be protected from losing my job or take action if I do, I would be interested in hearing. PLEASE!!
At this point, your best bet may be to let it go. If you get fired there is no real recourse if you are not under contract of any kind. Yes it would be nice to turn her in, but in the end they probably won't do much to her.
But actually, this may very well be your bit of job security, at least for a while. I'm sure your boss knows that you could still sue the company, which is part of why he wants to just sweep it under the rug. He certainly doesn't want you to sue the company, and hence he is going to want to keep you happy. Firing you would not keep you happy. Now, once the statute of limitations is up, that could change, but this will be at least a few years from now. So, at this point, just let it go, and check your credit report in a couple months. You can always get a copy for free if you get turned down for any kind of credt. So, contact one of you credit cards and ask for some un-Godly credit line increase, and when they turn you down, you can get your copy of your credit report.
But actually, this may very well be your bit of job security, at least for a while. I'm sure your boss knows that you could still sue the company, which is part of why he wants to just sweep it under the rug. He certainly doesn't want you to sue the company, and hence he is going to want to keep you happy. Firing you would not keep you happy. Now, once the statute of limitations is up, that could change, but this will be at least a few years from now. So, at this point, just let it go, and check your credit report in a couple months. You can always get a copy for free if you get turned down for any kind of credt. So, contact one of you credit cards and ask for some un-Godly credit line increase, and when they turn you down, you can get your copy of your credit report.
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