JKATHERINE
05-27-2004, 05:18 AM
Someone posted in V/W that they were recently the victim of Identity Theft. I received these tips a while ago from a friend of mine and thought I'd share them if you all haven't seen them already...
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
company:
* The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
first
name) and last name put on them.
* If someone takes your check book 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.
* When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO
NOTput 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.
* 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. 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.
* 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, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand 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, 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:
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 easily.
* File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was
stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a
first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought to do
this).
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 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 in their
tracks.
The numbers are:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
Pass this information along. It could really help someone you know.
The Reply from my classmate:
I've had a long career in Mortgage Banking and see thousands of credit
reports. I know a little about this and completely agree with everything
listed. The extra step of putting a fraud alert or lost/stolen alert on
your credit report is excellent and prudent for anyone who finds
themselves in such a spot. Lately, the incidences of "Identity Fraud"
are more frequent and more aggressive. In addition to outright thefts of
wallets and purses, criminals use mail theft as their number one source
of information about your life, and they use the papers in your
recycling trash as their second choice.
Here in California, the problem is almost a crisis. Personally, I feel
pretty safe most of the time. We've picked a few good habits and stick
to them, increasing our awareness whenever dealing with new people or in
unfamilar places. Here's some of our ideas and stories from firsthand
experience:
MAIL and RECYCLING TRASH: Buy and use a shredder. Never put any piece of
paper in your trash with any information about you on it. ESPECIALLY
credit card solicitations or store receipts. Way too many receipts have
personal information and some still print your entire card number. If
you don't need a receipt for taxes or returns, shred it. We keep the
shredder next to our recycling bin. Whether it's a request from the
March of Dimes, checks payable to a Car Dealer, a refinance approval or
anything with a reply card, it all gets shredded. (My wife gets a
personal kick out of opening the envelopes and sending the prepaid reply
envelopes back empty. She figures that the soliciting company will have
to pay for the return plus pay for the labor to open it. You go girl.)
Most apartment, condo, and gated community residences have locking mail
boxes. We didn't until mail theft became a routine problem in our
community. Our next door neighbor got whacked with $15,000 in charges
stemming from stolen mail. They caught one chick with their account info
getting a CAR LOAN! He ended up getting all the charges waived but it
took at least a month and if you knew Bill, you'd know how many times we
heard about it. I know that our mail was stolen several times, including
an employment contract I'd been expecting from my company, (Ha! The
bastard never showed up for work!) but Karen and I remained unscathed.
We petitioned our association and bought locking boxes. Might seem like
a complete bother at your home but it's good protection. If your mailbox
is on your house, an old fashioned slot in the door or a slot in the
garage gets your mail safely inside.
One of my customer's OUTGOING mail was stolen about 6 months ago. Their
first clue was the notice that their mortgage payment was past due. By
the time they reconciled their check and argued with the lender, payment
was over 30 days late. Proof came when police caught the criminals with
hundreds of pieces of mail, including Rob's mortgage check - a couple
months later. Having a 30 day mortgage late within the past 12 months is
critically damaging for "A" quality mortgage rates. We had Rob go to the
police and get them to go through archives for the police report, plus
he had to recover his old checking statemenst to prove to the
underwriter that he had good funds on deposit for the check at the time
of the delinquent mortgage before we could approve the best quality
refinance rate. It was a nightmare for our processor and for Rob's
family and he STILL has the delinquent item on his credit report. The
original lender was not paid on time, they cannot be made to remove it.
CHECKS: Frankly, with online banking and ATM cards and credit cards
accepted at every gas pump and grocery store, we write fewer checks than
ever. I don't see any reason to have ANY information printed on your
personal checks. Your electric company, your auto loan company, your
insurance company and everyone else you pay through the mail, will
accept a check from you without your pesonalized name and address
printed. However, if your checks are lost or stolen, there's no way that
anyone will know who's name to sign and even if they did, no stores,
banks or check cashing company will take the checks except the branch
where the funds are drawn and they'll have your signature on file. We
pay for gas, groceries, dry cleaning, and every possible item with one
credit card account and pay it off every month. It gives us a great
record for budgeting (in theory anyway) and we collect points toward
airline miles. We keep virtually no money in our checking account and
transfer funds online on the day we pay bills which is another
protection. Someone accepting a check stolen from me will get almost
surely get an Insufficient Funds Notice. Let'em try to prove that I'm
responsible for that check!
--What's one common way blank checks get stolen? Mail boxes of people
receiving a fresh order of new checks.
TRAVEL: Here's one more. I've travelled for business and pleasure a
great deal in my life. My travel kit includes one credit card - (I have
an additional American Express card billed to the same account but with
a different number) - a $100 bill, and a list of my account numbers with
their toll free service numbers, in a small envelope, separate from my
luggage and wallet. I put them in the hotel safe if my room doesn't have
it's own safe. (before electronic tickets, I put my airline tickets
there too) If my wallet were lost or stolen, I could cancel everything
else and still have a card and cash to get through the trip. Sure, most
card companies these days can respond quickly but you it still takes
time. When you're waiting for a cab to take you to the airport you don't
need the delay and you don't want to wait until you get home to take the
security precautions.
I don't think you have to be too worried about your safety, just pick a
few simple steps and do them habitually - especially that shredder.
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
company:
* The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
first
name) and last name put on them.
* If someone takes your check book 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.
* When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO
NOTput 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.
* 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. 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.
* 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, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand 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, 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:
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 easily.
* File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was
stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a
first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought to do
this).
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 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 in their
tracks.
The numbers are:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
Pass this information along. It could really help someone you know.
The Reply from my classmate:
I've had a long career in Mortgage Banking and see thousands of credit
reports. I know a little about this and completely agree with everything
listed. The extra step of putting a fraud alert or lost/stolen alert on
your credit report is excellent and prudent for anyone who finds
themselves in such a spot. Lately, the incidences of "Identity Fraud"
are more frequent and more aggressive. In addition to outright thefts of
wallets and purses, criminals use mail theft as their number one source
of information about your life, and they use the papers in your
recycling trash as their second choice.
Here in California, the problem is almost a crisis. Personally, I feel
pretty safe most of the time. We've picked a few good habits and stick
to them, increasing our awareness whenever dealing with new people or in
unfamilar places. Here's some of our ideas and stories from firsthand
experience:
MAIL and RECYCLING TRASH: Buy and use a shredder. Never put any piece of
paper in your trash with any information about you on it. ESPECIALLY
credit card solicitations or store receipts. Way too many receipts have
personal information and some still print your entire card number. If
you don't need a receipt for taxes or returns, shred it. We keep the
shredder next to our recycling bin. Whether it's a request from the
March of Dimes, checks payable to a Car Dealer, a refinance approval or
anything with a reply card, it all gets shredded. (My wife gets a
personal kick out of opening the envelopes and sending the prepaid reply
envelopes back empty. She figures that the soliciting company will have
to pay for the return plus pay for the labor to open it. You go girl.)
Most apartment, condo, and gated community residences have locking mail
boxes. We didn't until mail theft became a routine problem in our
community. Our next door neighbor got whacked with $15,000 in charges
stemming from stolen mail. They caught one chick with their account info
getting a CAR LOAN! He ended up getting all the charges waived but it
took at least a month and if you knew Bill, you'd know how many times we
heard about it. I know that our mail was stolen several times, including
an employment contract I'd been expecting from my company, (Ha! The
bastard never showed up for work!) but Karen and I remained unscathed.
We petitioned our association and bought locking boxes. Might seem like
a complete bother at your home but it's good protection. If your mailbox
is on your house, an old fashioned slot in the door or a slot in the
garage gets your mail safely inside.
One of my customer's OUTGOING mail was stolen about 6 months ago. Their
first clue was the notice that their mortgage payment was past due. By
the time they reconciled their check and argued with the lender, payment
was over 30 days late. Proof came when police caught the criminals with
hundreds of pieces of mail, including Rob's mortgage check - a couple
months later. Having a 30 day mortgage late within the past 12 months is
critically damaging for "A" quality mortgage rates. We had Rob go to the
police and get them to go through archives for the police report, plus
he had to recover his old checking statemenst to prove to the
underwriter that he had good funds on deposit for the check at the time
of the delinquent mortgage before we could approve the best quality
refinance rate. It was a nightmare for our processor and for Rob's
family and he STILL has the delinquent item on his credit report. The
original lender was not paid on time, they cannot be made to remove it.
CHECKS: Frankly, with online banking and ATM cards and credit cards
accepted at every gas pump and grocery store, we write fewer checks than
ever. I don't see any reason to have ANY information printed on your
personal checks. Your electric company, your auto loan company, your
insurance company and everyone else you pay through the mail, will
accept a check from you without your pesonalized name and address
printed. However, if your checks are lost or stolen, there's no way that
anyone will know who's name to sign and even if they did, no stores,
banks or check cashing company will take the checks except the branch
where the funds are drawn and they'll have your signature on file. We
pay for gas, groceries, dry cleaning, and every possible item with one
credit card account and pay it off every month. It gives us a great
record for budgeting (in theory anyway) and we collect points toward
airline miles. We keep virtually no money in our checking account and
transfer funds online on the day we pay bills which is another
protection. Someone accepting a check stolen from me will get almost
surely get an Insufficient Funds Notice. Let'em try to prove that I'm
responsible for that check!
--What's one common way blank checks get stolen? Mail boxes of people
receiving a fresh order of new checks.
TRAVEL: Here's one more. I've travelled for business and pleasure a
great deal in my life. My travel kit includes one credit card - (I have
an additional American Express card billed to the same account but with
a different number) - a $100 bill, and a list of my account numbers with
their toll free service numbers, in a small envelope, separate from my
luggage and wallet. I put them in the hotel safe if my room doesn't have
it's own safe. (before electronic tickets, I put my airline tickets
there too) If my wallet were lost or stolen, I could cancel everything
else and still have a card and cash to get through the trip. Sure, most
card companies these days can respond quickly but you it still takes
time. When you're waiting for a cab to take you to the airport you don't
need the delay and you don't want to wait until you get home to take the
security precautions.
I don't think you have to be too worried about your safety, just pick a
few simple steps and do them habitually - especially that shredder.