BY NATHAN SPIECKER for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 8/28/2026
Last week, we talked about checking our credit reports and looking for information that doesn’t seem familiar. But getting the report is only part of the job. Sometimes the harder question is what to do when something that’s on it doesn’t make sense.
Carlos ran into that problem when he checked his credit report. Most of what he saw was familiar. His credit card was there. So were his auto loan and an account he’d paid off a few years ago. Then he came across a loan he didn’t recognize. Carlos didn’t know whether it was a mistake or something more serious. The name of the company didn’t ring a bell. He couldn’t remember applying for the loan. Had the information been reported incorrectly? Had the company changed its name? Or had someone used his identity?
It’s easy to jump to the worst conclusion. It’s also easy to put the report aside and tell ourselves we’ll look into it later. Neither is a particularly good response. An unfamiliar item doesn’t automatically mean identity theft. Financial companies sometimes use names that are different from the ones we know. Accounts can be sold or transferred. A lender we borrowed from years ago may no longer own the account. Credit reports can also contain inaccurate information. Still, if we don’t recognize something, it’s worth checking.
Before filing a dispute or assuming fraud, do a little investigating. Look through old statements or emails to see if the account name appears there. If the company name is unfamiliar, look it up using a trusted source to see whether it is connected to a lender or financial company you recognize. Sometimes the name on a credit report is a parent company, a servicer, or a company that bought an account from the original lender.
That doesn’t mean we should talk ourselves out of a legitimate concern. The point is simply to get a clearer picture of what we’re looking at. If an explanation makes sense, great! If it doesn’t, we still have the information we need to take the next step.
The first thing to do is make a note of what concerns us. Is it an account, a balance, a payment, or an inquiry? Which company is listed? What specifically doesn’t match what we know? Writing that down gives us something specific to investigate.
According to a Consumer Reports article, more than one in 10 people has inaccurate information on their report that could affect their credit score, and if this is the case for us, we can dispute it. The official information at AnnualCreditReport.com recommends identifying the item in question, explaining why we believe it is inaccurate, and providing copies of documents that support our position. Keep the originals and save copies of anything we send or receive.
We can dispute information with the credit reporting company that shows it. It is also worth contacting the company that provided the information. If the problem involves a loan or credit card, the lender may be able to explain what happened. If it is a reporting error, the company may be able to correct it.
And don’t forget about the problem once the dispute is submitted. Read the response when it arrives and check whether the information on the credit report has actually changed. If the information remains and we still believe it is wrong, our records can help us decide what to do next and explain the problem to the company or an appropriate regulator.
A loan that is simply reported incorrectly is one thing. A loan that someone opened in our name is another. If we believe someone has used our personal information to open an account or apply for credit, the Federal Trade Commission’s IdentityTheft.gov can help us figure out what to do next. The site walks consumers through reporting identity theft and creating a recovery plan based on what happened.
We should also contact the financial company involved. Use contact information from a statement, the company’s official website, or another source we know is legitimate. An unfamiliar email, text message, or pop-up is not the place to get a customer service number, as those are methods often used by scammers.
If we’ve tried to resolve the problem with the company and aren’t getting anywhere, there may be another place to turn. The appropriate regulator depends on the company and the issue involved. In Washington, the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) may be able to help if the financial service provider falls under DFI’s authority.
There are a couple of other tools worth knowing about, even before anything goes wrong. A fraud alert tells a lender that someone should take extra steps to verify our identity before opening new credit. A credit freeze restricts access to our credit report, making it harder for someone to open a new account in our name. They aren’t the same thing, and the FTC has a short guide explaining the difference.
A credit freeze won’t stop every kind of fraud. It doesn’t protect an existing bank account or credit card from someone who already has access to it. What it can do is add a barrier when someone tries to use our information to open new credit.
For many consumers, a freeze is worth considering simply for that reason. It is free. It stays in place until we remove it, and we can temporarily lift it when we want to apply for credit ourselves. It’s not something we have to wait until after our information has been stolen to do.
If something on a credit report looks wrong, the situation may take time to sort out. But waiting usually doesn’t make it easier. Start by figuring out what you’re looking at. Is the information inaccurate? Is it an account you don’t recognize because the company’s name is unfamiliar? Or does it look like someone may have used your identity? The answer helps determine the next step.
This week, if something on your credit report doesn’t look right, write down what you found and why it concerns you. Then do a little digging. Check your records, find out who is behind the company name, and see whether there is an explanation. If there isn’t, don’t ignore it. Take the next step. You don’t have to solve everything in one afternoon. You just need to start somewhere.
And sometimes the surprise isn’t finding something that doesn’t belong on a credit report. Sometimes the report is nearly empty. What does that mean? We’ll look at that next.
This column is produced by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Washington’s financial services regulator, to provide consumer education and protection. Learn more or file a complaint at www.dfi.wa.gov.
