This was sent to me to pass along . please take the time to do the same.


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. 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.

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, etc.

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:

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: (I never even thought to do this).

Call the three 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 in their tracks.

The numbers are:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

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. Pass this information along. It could really help someone you care about.

 

Very good advice, except that I as a retail business will not take your personal check without a valid home address, nor do I want only a work phone number. Using initials will probably get a check turned down since it is harder to I.D. as well. If I can't track you down easily should your check be refused, and trust me, if I have to work at locating you, you will pay a lot more in fees.

 

Nice!!!

 

Really good point about photo copies of all your cards. I keep meaning to do that and put it off all the time. I'll probably get serious about it right about the time my wallet disappears. Scammers suck!

 

Good advise. A few things to add. This should be your first stop: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/index.html

If just your credit card is stolen, it's not a big deal. Call up your credit card company, (the number is always on an old bill), and tell them what happened.
They will ask about the last time you used the card and after that point, your responcibility ends.

Call your local police to make a report. Not that they will do anything, in fact, your report will most likely go inactive as soon as you hang up the phone. But you need the report number. Especially if they took your wallet with ID, credit cards and checkbook. This number will be just as important as your ID used to be.

You only need to file with one credit reporting agency - they work together. I like Equifax. This is important: When you fill out the report, (find it though the above link), make sure you put a credit freeze on yourself for at least a year. The six month option isn't long enough. These crooks work on a suspense file, just like salesmen. They'll try again every so oftain. When it asks if your sure you want to do this - yes, you are sure. You can still get credit, just a few more hoops to go through - which I feel should be in place anyway.

Also, file a federal report, it's on the link. Once you do this you are covered by the thefts that happen. Don't let anyone talk you into paying for the thefts. You send them a signed affidavid with that police report number on it. I feel sorry for the mechants. They are the real victims in all of this. It doesn't matter if they do check ID's, and I'll tell you why.

These crooks have three seperate divisions. First is the pimply faced crackhead that breaks into cars, houses, mailboxes, ect. They might make $50 - $100 for a good set of ID's. The credit cards aren't worth much. The credit companies are pretty good at shutting them down, so the kids usually use the cards as fast as they can - until a clerk pulls it for not passing.

They sell these ID's to middlemen, they might be into drugs or maybe not. But they have bills to pay and nice computer systems. They doctor things up to sell to the third group. The people that go out and pass the checks. These guys can go to the middleman, who might have hundreds of ID's,and buy an ID that looks something like them for the right money. Not altered. They are smooth and from that point can pass a counter check to a tightwade mechant.

Within 2 hours of my wallet and checkbook being stolen, my creditcard had been used 2 dozon times and turned off. A month later my checkbook was just about used up by a guy using my ID that could have passed for my brother. He would hit these places multiple times, with about a month spread.
He was so smooth, when he ran out of my checks, he used third party company checks from out of state. My name wasn't even on them. When he ran out of those, he went to the bank and asked for a bunch of counter checks and used those. He was so good, he got caught for passing bad checks in a different county, posenssion of drugs, and driving without insurance, used my name and got out on bail the next day. Guess who had to go to court? I did.

Police never did do much. I finally got action by going to over 30 stores on my nights and weekends and asking them to please nab this guy. If I got a bill in the mail, I would send off an affidavid and go visit the store. One finally got my drivers license back about 4 months ago. (It's been over a year since the theft). I still get bills now, but they are old ones. I think I'm down to the Uhaul truck he rented with a check to pick up the $3500 worth of tires he stole. He nabbed over $40,000 worth of stuff from some really nice people, $500 - $900 worth at a time.

 

You should keep a copy of your registration and tag numbers outside your car in your house. That way if your car gets stolen, the plates and VIN are easy to report to the police. Also helps when calling the police with this information to activate your lo-jack in your car.

 

Good stuff. Thanks.

 

It's kind of ironic. There are stores that use a drivers license based reporting system. They ask for my drivers license when I try to use my ATM. This is red flagged, which is great. What do I do? I pull out my credit card, use it, and walk out the door with my stuff. Always works.

 

Been there too, it sucks.
My truck was broken into while I was at work, and I just happened to leave my wallet (checks, ID, SS#, credit card) and cell phone in the armrest compartment (not in plain view) that day. I work evenings at a hospital, so I figured they got into my truck around 6 pm, and I didn't go to my truck untill 11 pm. They had about 4-6 hrs headstart on me, but I filled the police report and got on the phone to cancel the phone and credit card (good thing I only have one). Next morning I went to the bank and canceled the account and ATM card. I had just sent out a bunch of checks for property taxes and bills, so those all came back. Got on the web and got my credit report and got a credit freeze going. All in all they used the credit card for about $100, which I got taken care of thru the credit card company, and 2 checks they used that bounced for about $100. When I got the telecheck notices, I wrote them a letter and sent a copy of the police report, never heard anything back from them. I did get a check declined at one place with my new checks, but I usually don't use checks anyway, so thats ok. My guess is that these were a couple of retard kids or it would of been much worse. Still really worried about my SS #, I got a replacement card and I don't carry it anymore. I'll just have to check on my credit reports and SS statements and hope for the best.