Useful Information

>> A corporate attorney sent the following out to the
>> employees in his
>> company.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 1. The next time you order checks have only your
>> initials (instead of
>> first name) and last name put on them. If someone
>> takes your checkbook,
>> they will not know if you sign your checks with just
>> your initials or
>> your first name, but your bank will know how you
>> sign your checks.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards.
>> Instead, put "PHOTO ID
>> REQUIRED."
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 3. When you are writing checks to pay on your cr
>> edit c ard 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 will not have
>> access to it.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 4. 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. However, if you
>> have it printed, anyone can get it.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 5. 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. Also
>> carry a phot ocopy of
>> your passport when traveling either here or abroad.
>> We have all heard
>> horror stories about fraud that is committed on us
>> in stealing a name,
>> address, Social Security number, credit cards.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards
>> for keys (and they
>> all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in!
>> . Ta k e them with
>> you and destroy them. Those little cards hav e on
>> them all of the
>> information you gave the hotel, including address
>> and credit card
>> numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card
>> reader, or employee of
>> the hotel, can access all that information with no
>> problem whatsoever.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand
>> knowledge because my
>> wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the
>> thieve(s) ordered an
>> expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a
>> VISA credit card,
>> had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer
>> and received a PIN
>> number from DMV to change my driving record
>> information online. Here is
>> some critical information to limit the damage in
>> case this happens to
>> you or someone you know:
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 1. We have been told we should cancel our credit
>> cards immediately.
>> 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.
>>
>> >
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 2. 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). However, here is what is
>> perhaps most important of
>>
>>
>> > all (I never even thought to do this.)
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 3. Call the three national credit reporting
>> organizations immediately
>> to place a fraud alert on your name and Social
>> Security 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 w as adv ised 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 t he 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
>> and contents being stolen:
>>
>> >
>>
>> > 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
>>
>> > 2.) Experian (formerly T RW): 1 -888-397-3742
>>
>> > 3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
>>
>> > 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):
>> 1-800-269-0271