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 no t 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 first hand knowledgebecause my wallet was stolen last month. 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 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 cardsimmediately. 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 be en 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, 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
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 no t 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 first hand knowledgebecause my wallet was stolen last month. 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 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 cardsimmediately. 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 be en 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, 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
Putting "Photo Id required" or "ask for id" instead of your name is not an answer. Sophisticated thieves can seperate the card and put the back of your card with the micro encoding stip and attached it to the front of another card with a different name (a name that they would have identification). So the merchant would ask for ID from them and compare it to the fake front of the card. The back (the strip) is from your card and is how your account gets charged. YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR NAME on the back of your card, so that they can not put another name on the front. You can also put "Ask for ID" or "ID required", if that makes you feel better. However, most merchants and cashiers no longer even look at your card. The customer often swipes their own card from the customer's side of the counter away from the cashier, so the cashier would not even know to ask for ID. Since it doesn't appear that the merchants will ever decide to place policies that require ID from customer's like bank's do, this type of theft will always be a burden to the consumer. So, report stolen or lost cards as soon as possible and monitor your acct carefully and dispute all unauthorized charges with the institution. Make sure that your bank or credit card company protects against those unauthorized charges from lost or stolen cards.
ReplyDeleteWhile much of this is good advice, parts of #1 and #3 could get you into more hot water than help you.
ReplyDeleteFor #1, it states "Not Valid Unless Signed" on the back of all credit cards. If you don't sign it, most stores' merchant agreements with the CC processors state that the store should not accept a CC unless it is signed. But on the other side of the coin, many stores use self-swipe CC machines, so the employees never even see or touch your card, so this would probably not help you anyway.
For #3, this is outright fraud. The address on your personal cheques (yes, cheques, not "checks") should match the address on your valid personal identification. Putting your work address is fraud unless the cheque is a business cheque.
While I agree that having copies of one's wallet contents, you have to be careful where you get that photocopy from:
ReplyDeleteHere is one article, showing that many photocopiers retain a digital image of everything copied. You never know where that copier will end up later, even years later after the fact.