It is believed that somewhere between three and five out of every 10 cases of identity theft is committed by a family member or friend. And as our ITAC blog readers know, we have been covering the family-on-family identity theft for a while and unfortunately, it is all too common.

In keeping in this vein, we found a CNN Money Help Desk question from an identity theft victim whose grandmother opened a credit card account in her name without her knowledge. Of course, grandma did not pay the bill and now the granddaughter is in a heap of trouble. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel: she can turn grandma in (yep, though it is not easy, but you can bring grandma to justice).

According to the CNN Help Desk response, you should do the following:

– Decide whether or not to contact law enforcement. Without a doubt, turning in grandma is a big decision that needs to be weighed considerably.

– File a police report citing identity theft. Key evidence can include signatures not matching or charges made when the victim couldn’t have possibly made them.

- Once a police report is filed, the process of mitigating “new account” fraud begins. It is more important to prove that the victim did not make the charges than to prove who made the charges.

It’s a very saddening thing when family members betray each other like this — especially when a family elder takes advantage of the younger generation. It is a significant breach of trust that can cause wounds that take very long to heal. On the positive note, if you have been a victim of identity theft by a family member, justice is on your side and you can take action.

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