Cactus Village Community

GOOD ADVICE

Jul 27, 2003

A corporate attorney sent this out to the employees in his company. I pass it along for your information.

Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, copy both sides of each license, credit card, etc. This way, you will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel, when your wallet comes up missing. KEEP THE PHOTOCOPY INA_SAFE PLACE!


We?’ve all heard the horror stories about fraud that has been committed using your name, address, social security number, etc. Unfortunately I (the author of this piece who happens to be an attorney) have firsthand knowledge, because my wallet was stolen last month and 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.
?• As everyone always advises, cancel your credit cards immediately, but the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep them where you can find them easily.
?• File a Police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen. This proves to your credit providers that you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
?• But, here?’s what is perhaps most important. Call the three National Credit Reporting organizations immediately to place a ?‘fraud alert?’ on your name & social security number.
I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me that 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 2 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 (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.

THE NUMBERS TO CALL 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
Good Luck! Now go and make those copies. . . ☻