Chansamout N.’s Battle Against Identity Theft and a Broken System

Imagine getting a call out of the blue from a bank you’ve never dealt with, asking when you plan to make your car payments—on a car you never bought. This is precisely what happened to Chansamout N. In March 2023, her life took an unexpected and frightening turn when she learned that her own family member had stolen her identity to buy a car. The ordeal that followed threw her into a whirlwind of stress, confusion, and a drawn-out battle to reclaim her good name.

The Call That Changed Everything

It started with an innocent-sounding phone call. The person on the other end was from Hyundai Motor Finance, calling to discuss a late payment on a car loan. But Chansamout was stunned—she didn’t have a car loan with Hyundai or any other auto finance company. Something was terribly wrong.

At first, she thought it must be a mistake. After all, people get misdialed calls or mistaken accounts all the time, right? But as the conversation continued, she realized this wasn’t a simple mix-up. Hyundai Motor Finance had her personal information on file, including her name and social security number. According to them, she was the co-signer on a loan for a car purchased by her brother-in-law, Christopher. But Chansamout had never agreed to this. In fact, she had no idea her name was tied to any car loan at all.

It turned out that her brother-in-law had forged her signature and used her driver’s license to convince the dealership that she was co-signing for the car. Not only had he stolen her identity, but he had also left her on the hook for the loan payments without her knowledge.

Filing the Police Report

As soon as she learned about the fraud, Chansamout acted quickly. She filed a police report with the Coconut Creek Police Department, providing all the details about the forged signature and the car purchase. The dealership confirmed to the police that her brother-in-law had committed the fraud. The report was clear: Chansamout was a victim of identity theft, and her personal information had been misused.

But even though the dealership and the police confirmed her innocence, her problems were far from over. The damage to her credit had already begun.

The Damage to Her Credit

Shortly after learning about the fraudulent car loan, Chansamout started receiving letters from several of her creditors. Macy’s, Citibank, and Barclays—all reputable companies where she held credit accounts—began notifying her that they were lowering her credit limits or closing her accounts entirely. Why? Because her credit report showed multiple hard inquiries from Hyundai Motor Finance and Coconut Creek Hyundai, the dealership where her brother-in-law had purchased the car. To these companies, it looked like she was suddenly applying for credit left and right, raising red flags about her financial reliability.

This false information on her credit reports caused her credit score to drop, making it nearly impossible to secure any new credit. Her Macy’s card was closed, her Citi Costco Visa limit was slashed, and her Barclays card was similarly downgraded. These changes made her feel like her financial stability was slipping away; worse, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

The Heartbreaking Reality of Identity Theft

Identity theft is more than just an inconvenience—it’s a violation that can impact every part of your life. For Chansamout, it felt like she was losing control. She was being blamed for something she didn’t do, and no one seemed to care that her credit was being destroyed based on lies.

She requested copies of her credit reports from the major credit reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—and there it was, in black and white: multiple hard inquiries from Hyundai Motor Finance, Coconut Creek Hyundai, and other entities she had never dealt with. These inquiries weren’t just a tiny hiccup—they were a direct consequence of the fraudulent loan, and they were wreaking havoc on her credit profile.

The Fight for Justice

With the police report in hand, Chansamout did what any responsible person would do—she contacted the credit bureaus to dispute the false information. She provided them with everything they needed: a copy of the police report, an identity theft report filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and her personal identifying documents.

But she was met with stonewalling instead of receiving swift help from the credit bureaus. Experian, in particular, questioned whether her dispute was even legitimate, claiming it might have been filed by an unauthorized third party. Despite having clear evidence that she was the victim of identity theft, Experian refused to remove the fraudulent inquiries or even conduct a proper investigation.

Equifax was not much better. After dragging its feet for months, it failed to block all the fraudulent inquiries from Hyundai Motor Finance and Coconut Creek Hyundai. Instead of treating her case with the urgency it deserved, Equifax’s investigation was so slow and incomplete that Chansamout felt like she was shouting into the void.

Only TransUnion responded appropriately, quickly removing the fraudulent inquiries and correcting her credit report. But by then, the damage had already been done. Her credit score had plummeted, and she had lost access to several of her accounts.

The Emotional Toll

“I felt completely trapped,” Chansamout said. “I was doing everything right—filing reports, submitting disputes—but no one seemed to care. It felt like I was screaming, and no one was listening.”

The stress of dealing with identity theft is overwhelming. Each letter from a creditor and each phone call from the credit bureaus was like a punch to the gut. Every day, Chansamout worried about the long-term impact on her financial future. Would she ever be able to recover her credit? Would she be able to apply for a loan, rent an apartment, or even buy a home without this hanging over her?

Worse, the strain this situation put on her family relationships was devastating. She had to confront her brother-in-law about his actions, which caused tension and emotional pain that extended beyond her credit report. It was a betrayal that ran deep.

Taking Legal Action

When it became clear that the credit bureaus and Hyundai Motor Finance wouldn’t take her disputes seriously, Chansamout knew she had to take her fight to court. With the help of her attorney, Matthew McKenna, she filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The suit names the defendants of three major credit reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—and Hyundai Motor Finance.

In the lawsuit, we allege that these companies violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of her credit reports and by refusing to block or remove the fraudulent inquiries. The complaint further argues that Hyundai Motor Finance was negligent in approving the loan in the first place, failing to verify her signature or ensure that she had authorized the transaction.

Through this legal action, Chansamout is seeking actual, statutory, and punitive damages for the harm these companies caused. More than just fixing her credit, she’s fighting for accountability—for the credit bureaus and the lenders to take identity theft seriously and protect people like her from being victimized over and over again.

The Path Forward

Chansamout’s story is a story too familiar to too many people. Identity theft isn’t just about numbers on a credit report—it’s about lives being turned upside down, trust being shattered, and victims being left to clean up a mess they didn’t make. While the fight isn’t over for Chansamout, she’s finally taking back control through the legal system.