Everyday safety tips against theft

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sandie
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 1:24 pm
Location: Romania
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Everyday safety tips against theft

Post by sandie » Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:21 am

Good Advice

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:

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.

Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

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.

Put your work phone number 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 social security number printed on your checks. 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 traveling 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.

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:

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 dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact if your wallet, etc., has been stolen:

1. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2. Experience (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3. Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

I received this info from Waresoft Newsletter and was permitted to resend it.
Sandie

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navin
Posts: 414
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 12:23 pm
Location: Kentucky

Some of that is good

Post by navin » Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:03 am

... although I have to disagree with the one that says, put "Ask for photo ID" on the back of your credit cards. This will hardly ever work... 99 times out of 100, you either swipe the card yourself (and no cashier looks at it), or the cashier doesn't check the signature anyway.

The places that *do* ask for photo ID will do so regardless of what you have on the card.

A better idea is to keep your receipts and when you get your statement, make sure everything is kosher. Even if you are never a victim of fraud, doing this can help - I have occasionally found some dubious charge on there - usually coming from a company that automatically renews you for something every year, and perhaps you just forgot to cancel, or you did cancel and they still charged you, stuff like that.

I'm not sure about getting just initials printed on checks - they check for more ID than an airport security guard when you pay with check anywhere!

Something they didn't mention but is very important is to be VERY careful using debit cards. With credit cards, if you catch fraud or a wrong charge within 30 days, you won't have to pay for it. But debit cards are less forgiving - you have to catch it within a few days before they deduct money from your account.

Another thing they didn't mention is that it's not a bad idea to be paranoid and shred documents containing account numbers before throwing them out. This will thwart "dumpster divers"... (I also usually mix mine in the same trash as my kitty litter... if somebody is desparate enough to fish an account number out of *that*, then they probably need the money more than I do anyway....)

But then again, that's just me.
:wink:

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