Read
this and make a copy for your files in case you
need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all
take some of his advice! A corporate attorney
sent the following out to the employees in his
company:
1. Do
not sign the back of your
credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO
ID REQUIRED.'
2. When you are writing checks to pay on your
credit card accounts, DO
NOT
put the complete account
number on th e 'For' line.
Instead, just put the last
four numbers. The
credit card company knows the rest of the
number, and anyone who might be handling your
check as it passes through all the check
processing channels won't have access to it.
3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead
of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use
that instead of your home address. If you do not
have a PO Box, use your work address.
Never
have your SS#
printed on your checks. (DUH!) You
can add it if it is necessary. But if you have
It printed, anyone can get it.
4. Place the
contents
of your
wallet
on a
photocopy machine. Do both sides
of each license, credit card, etc. You will know
what you had in your wallet and all of the
account numbers and phone numbers to call and
cancel.. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.
I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I
travel either here or abroad. We've all heard
horror stories about fraud that's committed on
us in stealing a Name, address, Social Secur ity
number, credit cards..
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have
first hand knowledge because my wallet
was stolen last month. Within a week, the
thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone
package, applied for a
VISA credit card, had a credit line
approved to buy a
Gateway computer, received a PIN number
from DMV to change my driving record information
online, and more.
But here's some critical
information to limit
the damage in case this happens
to you or someone you know:
5. We have been told we should cancel
our credit
cards immediately. But the key is
having the toll free numbers and your card
numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep
those where you can find them.
6.. File
a police
report immediately in the
jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were
stolen. This proves to credit providers you were
diligent, and this is a
first step toward an investigation (if
there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most
important of all:
(I never even thought to do this.)
7.
Call the 3
national credit reporting organizations immediately
to place a fraud alert on your name and also
call the
Social Security fraud line number.. I had
never heard of doing that until advised by a
bank that called to tell me an application for
credit was made over the Internet in my name.
The alert means any company that checks your
credit knows your information was stolen, and
they have to contact you by phone to authorize
new credit..
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two
weeks after the theft, all the damage had been
done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of
which I knew about before placing the alert.
Since then, no additional damage has been done,
and the thieves threw my wallet away this
weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have
stopped them dead in their tracks..
Now, here are the numbers you always need to
contact about your wallet, if it has been
stolen:
1.)
Equifax:
1-800-525-6285
2.)
Experian (formerly TRW):
1-888-397-3742
3.)
Trans Union :
1-800-680 7289
4.)
Social Security Administration (fraud
line):
1-800-269-0271
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass
along just about everything.
If you are willing to pass this information a
long, it could really help someone that you care
about.
