Atttorney’s Advice for Free!! This is not a joke. Even if you dislike attorneys…You will love them for these tips. Maybe we should all take some of his advice. A corporate attorney sent the following to all of his employees.
- Do Not sign the back of your credit cards, put Photo ID Required.
- When writing out checks to your credit card company Do Not put the complete account number the ‘For” line. Instead, just add the last four digits. The credit card company knows the rest of your account number, and anyone 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 P.O. Box use that instead of your home address. If you don’t have a P.O. Box use your work address.
- Photcopy the contents of your wallet. Do both sides of your license, credit cards, etc. Keep the photocopies in a safe place. You will know what you had in your wallet, the accountnumbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that’s committed on us in stealing a name, address, social security number, and credit cards
As an example my wallet was stolen…..Within a week, the thieves had ordered an expensive monthly cell package, applied for a new Visa card, had a credit Line approved through Gateway Computers, received a PIN # from the DMV to change my driving record information on-line, and more. But here is some critical information to limit damage in case this happens to you.
- Canceled your credit cards immediatly. Remeber the key is having the toll free numbers and account numbers handy so you know whom to call.
- File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligient, and this is the first step towards an investigation.
- But here’s what perhaps is the most important of all,Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immeediately 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 me to tell me an application for credit was made over the internet in my name.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage was done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves before placing the alert
Now , here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet if it is lost or stolen:
- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
- Experian 1-888-397-374
- Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
- Social Security Administration (fraud line) 1-800-269-0271
We pass along jokes on the internet, we pass along just about everything. If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.
