Protect Your Identity from Thieves
February 3rd, 2012 // 2:25 am @ John Piro
What’s in Your Wallet?
If You Lose Your Wallet or it gets Stolen…
Read this, make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. CLick the Tweet button above and / or post to your Facebook NewsFeed. It may help protect someone you know or who sees this information.
You probably know some of the precautions to take already however I am willing to bet there are a few in the list below you may not be aware of that will make the difference to your or someone you know bank account. We should all take some of this corporate attorney’s advice who sent the following information in an email to his associates & 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 the ‘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 Security number, credit cards..
Unfortunately, this attorney has first hand knowledge because his wallet was stolen in January 2012. 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 his 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 are 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: (This astute attorney never even thought to do this either. Have you?)
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. The attorney had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell him an application for credit was made over the Internet in his 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 he 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 he knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw his wallet away (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
So many people pass along jokes via email on the Internet. I rarely read them. But this one came from my Mom so I thought it was worth posting to my blog where it will be for as long as I keep this blog online – which I suspect will be forever!
As mentioned at the beginning, click the Tweet button, post to your Facebook page by simply copying the URL in the address bar to this page above or forward in an email to your list of contacts. It could really help someone you care about.
Keep Yourself, Friends & Family Safe.
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THINK!
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Go to the Bottom Left Corner of this page http://BUDURL.com/InvisusServices & click on “Learn More” under the “Identity Theft Protection section. You’ll be glad you did.
Category : Save/Make Money
