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HomeSafeHome:  Keeping your personal info safe from fraud  |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 12 2005 : 2:54:47 PM
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Hello Ladies,
I just received this info bulletin from a business associate. I thought the information so valuable I decided to post it here for you to see. Some of it I already knew but other parts I would not have thought of. So in the interrests of personal safety here are the suggestions.
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 have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. 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 ever is 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 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 about your wallet, etc., has been stolen:
1.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
2.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
3.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
4.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2005 : 3:26:45 PM
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Thanks Eileen!!!
Being is what it is. Jean Paul Sartre |
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quiltedess
True Blue Farmgirl
296 Posts
Nancy
Priest River
ID
USA
296 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2005 : 4:20:35 PM
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Yep, all of that is right. My wallet was stollen from me at work. I did all of the above, it took a couple of hours to get all the phone calls made (to credit card companies esp. because you are always holding for the "next available . . .), but the thief apparently didn't/couldn't use anything. One other thing, the fraud alerts are in effect for 6 months, at which time they should be renewed; I've since heard that thives will wait it out for a period of time and then when you think it's all done with, they'll try again.
Nancy |
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PJJ
True Blue Farmgirl
95 Posts
Paula
Bristow
OK
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2005 : 7:13:52 PM
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Be aware, however, that some organizations will not accept your credit card if it isn't signed.
My personal experience: The back of my cc's request photo ID. I edit and distribute a quarterly newsletter for a national (dog) breed club and have for four+ years. Last summer, when I went to a Tulsa post office to buy postage and pay by cc (which I've always done), they wouldn't accept my cc because it wasn't signed. They even have a sign posted to that effect. It is evidently a new "deal" they have with MC/Visa.
However, they *would* accept my cc if I signed it right there in front of them -- whatever! -- even though I could have been forging the signature. So I signed in pencil then erased it as soon as they ran the charge through.
The little post office where I live now accepts the cc without question, even thoug it isn't signed. But their official policy is the cc must be signed. Irritates the life out of me.
Paula J.
Paula J., with Ty, Cara, Brody, Blue, and Fidget |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2005 : 04:53:05 AM
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I don't accept an unsigned credit card and don't allow someone to sign it in front of me. When I opened the vendor account for MasterCard and Visa 10 years ago I was legally required to match signatures so this isn't a new law. It's a law that's being enforced more often because of identity theft.
You should never, emphasis on never, give anyone your SS number unless it's directly related to Social Security. If someone demands it (which is illegal unless it's related to your social security account) they get the telephone number to my computer line. Imagine what someone can do with your unsigned credit card and your social security number. That person can easily become you.
Robin
www.thymeforewe.com |
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quiltedess
True Blue Farmgirl
296 Posts
Nancy
Priest River
ID
USA
296 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2005 : 08:14:32 AM
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Yep, the STUPIDEST thing I did was keep my SS card in my wallet. That has worried me more than anything. Not only that . . . my insurance card was there too and it had my hubby's SS# on it as the Insurance ID. The insurance company has since changed that, but it was too late for me.
Nancy |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2005 : 12:31:46 PM
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thanks Eileen for the good advice. Michele
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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Kay in Kentucky
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Kay
Dunnville
Kentucky
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2005 : 6:48:32 PM
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This has made me think what if it happened to me!
I taking some action pronto, this stealing of identities is way out of control.
Kay
My blog;
http://oakspringfarm.blogspot.com |
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HomeSafeHome: Keeping your personal info safe from fraud |
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Keeping your personal info safe from fraud
