Attorney\'s Advice

[Lee]

..
ATTORNEY'S ADVICE -- NO CHARGE

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 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.

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 havea
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.

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. 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:

1. 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.

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 everis
one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all : (I
never even thought to
do this.)

3. Call the 3 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 applicationfor
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
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.
But if you are willing to pass this information
along, it could really help
someone that you care about.

[Delta Kits]

Thanks Lee!

[johnnyone]

Thats Great imformation, hopefully we will all learn form one another.
My ID was stolen and the guy was going around town writeing checks, even got to see him on vidio at the radio shack buying a TV and DVR, the store manager got wise and called me and told him it not me, he called the cops and the guy split. Two weeks latter he was arrested at the casino trying to cash a check in my name.....

[maxryde]

Right on Lee, as an Id theft victim twice over we were given the same info on our second go round. We were luck the first time the thief('s) stole so much info that we hadn't been hit untill after we were made aware of the theft. I can add that the one bank wanted to flag our account instead of issuing a new acct #. Not good the flag is dropped after one year and the thief can then have checks printed and get you then!!

Scott