Common sense gone unchecked? Just wanted to share.

[a.k.a. Patrick]

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 will not 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,
(DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary.

However, 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. Also carry a photocopy of your
passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror
stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address,
Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for! keys (and they all
seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and
destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you
gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration
dates.

Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that
information with no problem whatsoever.



Here is 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. 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).

However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even
thought to do this.)

3. 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 dead in
their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and
contents being stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

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

3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.

Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass this information along, it could
really help someone about who you care.

[chml17l]

I am going to place all the great info you posted in my new CC theft/Identity fraud file. Thanks again for all the great tips.

[BigAl3]

patrick, thanks for info!

[rjstaaf]

Ditto, we learned much of the same information the hard way as well. The dead beat boyfriend of my sister managed to get hold of a financial aid application for school my sister had filled out. It had much of my mother's information on it and he used it to apply for credit in her name. He was stupid enough to use her address and she received the bill in the mail. She called them and he was also stupid enough to order things in his name with it using his home address. In addition to the fraud alert with the credit reporting agencies, we also signed her up for an alerting service with Equifax that notifies her via email whenever there are any changes to her credit report.

Here is a website by the FTC that also lists some good information and resources.

http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

[DETAILKING]

good info....scrap the line about the hotel keys though........

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/hotelkey.asp

[Accumulator]

Patrick- That's good advice, thanks for posting it.

FWIW, we don't have any personal info (except our names) printed on our checks- no address, no phone, none of that. Never been a problem, if somebody needs more info they can ask for it.

I wonder about the "initials only" approach though. I'd expect a check to make it pretty far into the system before anybody even checks the signature, if it's even checked at all these days. I know a guy who goes by "C. W."; he has that on his checks and signs them that way too (hates having the name "Clarence" ). This might be like dating checks (with a future date) so they can't be cashed immediately- nobody seems to pay attention to it nowadays, they just process them regardless of the written-in date.

[Asonyexec]

Good posting Patrick. You're right lots of jokes ect posted here but rarely is useful info passed along (barring auto & auto detail info).

The best info I ever received was taking photocopies of ATM cards, credit cards and passport when out of the country (even in country). Served me well on a trip to Spain where I lost my AMEX, I had all the info right there including their international phone number and within 48 hours had new card couriered to my hotel.

And for those that haven't done so..........BUY A PAPER SHREDDER. It will be the best $30, $40 or $50 you ever spent. This is a new world we live in and it only takes tiny bits & pieces of personal info to be able to steal an identity.

[AutoCadillac]

Originally Posted by Asonyexec

....BUY A PAPER SHREDDER. It will be the best $30, $40 or $50 you ever spent. This is a new world we live in and it only takes tiny bits & pieces of personal info to be able to steal an identity.

Recently we had the garbage from our outside garbage bin stolen. I would have never thought it would happen to us. We feel very fortunate that we shred all sensitve material and hope the bag containing the fish guts popped open inside the jerk's car.

[NT2SHBBY]

wow...everyone thinks that Patrick is the original poster of this text..speaking of common sense,

1) I doubt Patrick is a lawyer (who is the one who wrote this to begin with)
2) Patrick copied this from an email of some sorts-I know because I got it months ago from a co-worker...

[rjstaaf]

Originally Posted by NT2SHBBY

wow...everyone thinks that Patrick is the original poster of this text..speaking of common sense,

1) I doubt Patrick is a lawyer (who is the one who wrote this to begin with)
2) Patrick copied this from an email of some sorts-I know because I got it months ago from a co-worker...

Did Patrick say anything about these being his own ideas? Sounds more to me his is passing on information he has learned via his own experience. Why the beef?? Do you have a problem with anything he has suggested? It all sounds like good information to me

[NT2SHBBY]

Originally Posted by rjstaaf

Did Patrick say anything about these being his own ideas? Sounds more to me his is passing on information he has learned via his own experience. Why the beef?? Do you have a problem with anything he has suggested? It all sounds like good information to me

read the posts dude! people are conveying their apologies to him for being ripped off...all he did was cut and paste the email sent to him....

[rjstaaf]

Originally Posted by NT2SHBBY

read the posts dude! people are conveying their apologies to him for being ripped off...all he did was cut and paste the email sent to him....

And this affects you how???