My in-laws received a letter stating that a lien was placed against their house. The lien was placed by a law firm specializing in collections for a known collection agency. The original debt was incurred due to identity fraud but since my in-laws do not read or understand english well, they did not act upon the problem and are now in this unfortunate predicament. The debt listed is $15,000.00 and I believe that the original debt was for $6,0000.00. They live in California. Should they call a lawyer, settle the current debt or try to negotiate for a lesser payment? Please advise us of a plan of recourse. Thank you.

You stated that this was the result of IDT. Did they file a police report and fill out the FTC's IDT Affidavit? Do they still have this paperwork?

Hello NASCAR Devil,
Thank you for your quick response! Unfortunately, they did not file a police report. What other recourse do they have?

I would have them file a police report now. They may be able to do it online but if not, have them go down to the PD and get one filed. Then they will need to go to www.ftc.gov and fill out the IDT Affidavit online and have it notarized. Make sure they read all the info on the FTC's website. It will give them step by step instructions on everything they need to do. I would also suggest they hit the county court website to see if they had been sued and a judgement was entered against them. That would be the only way a lein could be placed on their property.

Placing liens on property in California is quite easy. Getting them removed is just as easy.

There was a guy here that felt that several county officers had wronged him and he filed leins against there property by going down to the county clerk and filing them. The clerk has to accept all documents that are properly formatted.

You can file almost anything with the county clerk. I know a guy that had is military DD214 (military resume) filed with the county clerk.

Thank you for your responses. We will file a police report this weekend and follow up from there. I really appreciate your advice and will let you know of the outcome.

I have a question about filing police reports. Once you do that, then what do the police do? Just curious if anyone knows.

Depends on how much info they receive from the victim. If they can identify the perpetrator and provide rock solid evidence, then it can be put into the hands of the DA. They take crimes against the elderly and handicapped very seriously. Earlier this year in Dallas, a woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison for IDT. She worked in a nursing home and stole the identity of the residents there.