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 this
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 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 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 # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a
PO Box use that instead of your home address.
Place the contents of your wallet on a scanner, do
both sides of each license, credit card, etc. Also scan the pages of your
passport and visa. Take along your birth certificate and scan that also. Once
you scanned them all, email yourself all the scans. Place the scans in the
saved box in your email account. You will know
what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and
phone numbers to call and cancel.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed
on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number,
credit cards, etc.
Here's a story about one person who lost his wallet in the USA.
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 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:
Call the 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 his wallet away. Some honest person
handed it in.
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about
everything. Pass this information along. It could really help
someone you care about