We all get the emails..... internet jokes, the latest urban legend, the hilarious YouTube video - all forwarded to your Inbox. I recently received an email from an attorney detailing a personal experience with a stolen wallet. Now, this, is one email I am happy to share.
1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, write “PHOTO ID REQUIRED”.
2. When you are writing checks to pay credit card accounts, do not write the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead, write only 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.
3. Write your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that address instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your social security number printed on your checks. You can add it if it is necessary.
4. Make a photocopy (both sides) of all your wallet contents. 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 is committed using stolen name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first-hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves 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.
Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
5. We have been told we should cancel credit cards immediately in the case of theft. 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.
6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where the theft took place. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here is what is most important of all (I never even thought to do this):
7. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing this until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit in my name was made over the Internet.
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.
Here are the numbers to contact if your wallet 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
2. When you are writing checks to pay credit card accounts, do not write the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead, write only 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.
3. Write your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that address instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your social security number printed on your checks. You can add it if it is necessary.
4. Make a photocopy (both sides) of all your wallet contents. 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 is committed using stolen name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first-hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves 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.
Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
5. We have been told we should cancel credit cards immediately in the case of theft. 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.
6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where the theft took place. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here is what is most important of all (I never even thought to do this):
7. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing this until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit in my name was made over the Internet.
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.
Here are the numbers to contact if your wallet 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
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