23. A lawyers advice on how to protect your credit.
Jaguar Parts Technical Information part 3
Anytime an attorney offers advise at no charge - consider it! And, this is pertinent.
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 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, 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:
- 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.
Here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, etc., 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 along, it could really help someone that you care about.
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