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We've all heard
horror stories about how fraud can be committed with a name, address,
SS#, and some credit information. An attorney recently reported that within
a week of having her wallet stolen, the thieves had done the following
in her name:
- 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 the Department of Motor Vehicles
to change her driving record information online
Simple steps
to prevent this from happening to you...
- Photocopy both sides of the contents of your wallet and keep these
copies in a safe place where you can find them if your wallet is stolen.
By doing so, you will know what you had in your wallet, and you will
have vital information at your fingertips, such as account numbers and
phone numbers to call to cancel credit cards.
- Cancel your credit cards immediately. In addition to having this
information on the photocopies in a safe place, you may also consider
keeping these numbers to call to cancel your credit card in a password-protected
file on your Palm Pilot.
- File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was
stolen. This proves to credit providers that you were diligent, and
is a first step toward an investigation.
- Next time you order checks, have only your initials and last name
placed on the checks. If someone takes your check book, they will
not know if you sign your checks with your initials and last name or
your full first name and last name. Only your bank knows how you
sign your checks.
- When you write a check to pay your credit card bill, only write the
last 4 digits of your credit card number in the Memo section on the
check. The credit card company knows the rest of the number.
- Have your work phone number printed on your checks instead of your
home number. Use a PO box instead of your home address.
NEVER have your Social Security number printed on your checks.
- Call the three national credit reporting organizations and the Social
Security Administration immediately to place a fraud alert on your name
and SS#. My husband had his credit card number stolen last
year (he still had the card) and someone tried to order a Western Union
wire for $960 with his credit card number. Because Western Union has
caller ID, and the phone number of the person making the call to wire
funds did not match our home number, Western Union called to verify
that he had requested the wire fund charge to his credit card. My husband
told them that he had not, and they suggested that he immediately put
a fraud alert on his credit reports, because someone was impersonating
him and had his credit card number.
The fraud alert
means that any company checking your credit knows your information was
stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.
Here are the numbers to call to report a fraud alert:
Since this has
happened to me and my husband, I want to do all I can to pass the word
about how to prevent it. The police did not investigate this because the
funds were (thankfully) never transferred. I contacted the local police
department in the California city where this fraudulent behavior took
place, and I contacted the FBI (three federal laws were violated -- impersonation,
wire fund fraud, credit card fraud). Both agencies essentially told me
that they were too busy to pursue this, even though I had the phone number
of the person who requested the Western Union wire fund transfer with
my husband's identity and credit card number.
Although we could not hold the individuals accountable who were involved
in this fraudulent behavior, we were able to stop them from getting what
they wanted. The only way we can fight this is to be prepared and protect
ourselves!
Here
are some ways in which criminals can steal your identity and purchase
things in your name:
- Checkbook: With this and your driver's license,
a thief can pass dozens of checks in your name.
- Pay Stubs: Valuable information about you is included
here.
- Credit card receipts: Includes credit card number,
your name, and expiration date -- as good as having the card itself
(this is how fraud was committed in my husband's name).
- Credit card: A thief can go on a shopping spree
and open a new account in your name.
- ATM card: This can be duplicated or used to clean
out your bank account.
- Palm Pilot: Personal information stored here needs
to be password protected.
- Business cards: These can be used to impersonate
you.
- Driver's License: Criminals can apply for a duplicate
license using their own photo.
- Social security card: A thief can get a lot more information about you with this number. Be sure you don't print your Social Security number on any cards or checks. Do not carry this card with you. If your wallet is stolen, they have your number. Never give out your Social Security number without first asking, "What happens if I don't give it?"
- Health insurance card: Does this contain your
social security number?
- Incoming mail: Be alert to bills and credit cards
that don't arrive on schedule or that appear to have been opened. Some
credit card companies send "blank checks" to be used the charge items
or transfer a balance over. A thief can steal this from your mailbox
and write a check in your name. Purchase a lock box for incoming
mail and deposit your outgoing mail in a secured mailbox.
- Over the phone or Internet: Be selective about
who you give confidential information to.* NEVER send off for
a free credit report over the Internet. If someone suggests that your membership is about to be shut down because your information needs to be updated, beware.
- Credit card offers through the mail: These can be stolen out of your mailbox. Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers by calling 888-567-8688, a service supported by all credit agencies. Be sure you shred these offers when you throw them away, as well as those blank "courtesy" checks.
- Free offers in the mall: They ask for WAY too much credit
information to qualify you.
- Send your kids off to college with this information.
Their mistakes can cost YOU dearly!
*INTERNET
FRAUD: Please note that this is a rapidly-growing means for
people to gain valuable confidential information about you. I recently
got an e-mail that looked legitimate -- including the financial institution’s
logo. The message requested information such as my name, address, phone
number, birth date, credit card number and expiration date, mother’s
maiden name, and more. The clues that tipped me off about this being a
fraudulent request:
- The return email address was not one that this financial
institution used.
- The Web address started with “http://” rather
than “https://” (the S means that it is a secure connection
for transmitting confidential information).
If there is ever
ANY question about the legitimacy of an online request for personal information,
do not provide it over the Internet. Call the company and confirm that
it is a legitimate request for such information. NEVER send confidential
information over an unsecured line…including sending it in the body
of an e-mail message.
TIPS
TO PREVENT FRAUD
- If stolen items include anything with your Social Security
number on it, contact the Social Security Administration (800-269-0271,
oig.hotline@ssa.gov) to report
that the number may have been used fraudulently.
- Call the Department of Motor Vehicles to find out if
a duplicate license has been issued in your name.
- Close every phony account opened in your name, and ask
for copies of the original credit applications for your files. This
may contain information that will help police track down the thief.
- If your existing accounts have been accessed by the
thief, close them, too. After every phone call, send the creditor a
certified letter to reiterate your conversation with them and document
your requests.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338 or at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Keep detailed records, including a log of your phone calls and copies of all documents. Save this information indefinitely. Check out their resource center at www.idtheftcenter.com or call 858-693-7935.
OTHER RESOURCES
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