Fraud Resources

Social Security Fraud

Mail Theft

The United States Postal Inspector has jurisdiction over the mail, and while a mail theft in progress should be a call to 911, report mail thefts or scams to the Postal Inspector at 877-876-2455. (Packages that have been stolen in Farmers Branch should be reported to the Farmers Branch Police Department.)

Online Scams

Online scams include but are not limited to Craigslist scams, OfferUp scams, lottery scams, email scams, money orders/wire transfer scams, ransomware, and similar scams. These should be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

This does not preclude you from contacting the police department with questions or to have an incident documented with a service number.

Check Forgery

Ask your financial institution where the check was passed (deposited / cashed, etc.) and make a police report with that city's agency. If the check was passed within the city of Farmers Branch, please fill out the Forgery Packet and submit it to the Farmers Branch Police Department. The financial institution is required to provide information on forged and fraudulent accounts under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). You should obtain the location(s) of where the check(s) were forged, check copies, a forgery affidavit from the financial institution and any other pertinent information and provide it to the police department.

"Hot" Checks

The Farmers Branch Police Department does not take reports of Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) checks. These cases should be filed directly with the check division with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office. The check division also takes "theft by check" cases, however, if you are unsure of what to do, please contact the Farmers Branch Police Department at 972-484-3620. You can find the guidelines for filing hot check cases with Dallas County online.

Credit / Debit Card Fraud

The police report should be filed with the agency where the credit / debit card was physically used. If the fraud occurred online, it can be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Ultimately, the person or business that suffered the monetary loss will be the complainant, generally the financial institution, upon reimbursement. If a police report is required so that you may be reimbursed, please complete the Credit/Debit Card Fraud packet and submit it to the Farmers Branch Police Department. The report number should be passed along to the financial institution so they can follow up.

Identity Theft

Report Identity Theft to the Federal Trade Commission.

The Federal Trade Commission recommends reporting ID theft to the police in the following circumstances:

  • You know the identity thief, or you have information that could aid the investigation.
  •  An identity thief used your information in an encounter with police, such as a traffic stop or arrest. (You will need to contact the agency where your information was used during the contact. 
  • You are contacted by a creditor or debt collector, and that party will not accept an FTC report and instead wants a police report. If this is the case, please file an FTC report and include it with the report you file with the police department.

If the above does not alleviate your issues, fill out the Identity Theft Packet, and the Farmers Branch Police Department will take a report if:

  • You reside in the City
  • The fraudulent activity occurred in the City 

Please note: Many of the above-listed cases can be difficult to investigate, as suspects hide their information behind the identifying information of other victims, and there are other investigative obstacles. We will investigate cases with an identified, viable suspect.

Please see the resource section for important links.