Women In Community Service Inc.

Identity Theft, The New Crime

Feb 12, 2000

Sgt. Rick Cambell of the HPD Forgery Division had some very enlightening information for the attendees of the February NE Division PIP meeting.

The warnings were welcomed and may members expressed surprise at the many ways that "crooks" are able to secure information about you and use your good name and good credit to give themselves a little vacation or some new merchandise.

One of the easiest ways to find yourself a victim is in the use of Debit Cards. Unlike a regular credit card where the card issuer fronts the money to the merchant and later bills you for the purchase, a Debit Card withdraws money directly from your bank account. There is no time for you to notice a variance in your account. There is usually no kind of recourse in this kind of crime. The danger comes when you are at a restautant or some other place where you may trust another party to be "out of sight" with your card. It is simply a matter of the waiter to double swipe your card and pocket the money that you won't miss for a few days, if ever.

Another good tip offered at the meeting was that you not put all your personal information on your checks. All that is really necessary to be imprinted on your checks is your name and address. Many times people will have their phone numbers and Texas Drivers' License numbers imprinted to save them the time of not having to write it down when they present a check. In the event that your checks are stolen and you have imprinted all your personal information, you have made it that much easier to have a thief cash your check.

Something that many of us do is have our new checks sent to our home address and the Post office leaves them in our mailboxes. This is a perfect opportunity for the unscrupulous to snatch your checks and make a real mess of your finances. Instead, have your checks delivered to the bank and have them call you when they arrive. This will not protect you from the few bank employees that are less than honest but it will cut down on the chances of 150 to 300 of your checks getting into the wrong hands.