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Identity Theft Crime Prevention Tips

Submitted by admin on Tue, 08/28/2007 - 22:52.

  1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

  2. 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 won't have access to it.

  3. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone number. 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 Social Security number printed on your checks. You can add it if it is necessary, but if you have it printed anyone can get it.

  4. 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 telephone 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's committed when a name, address, social security number, or credit card(s) is stolen.

  5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. 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 your credit card, etc., was stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent and is a first step toward an investigation, if one is opened.

  7. Perhaps the most important step of all, immediately contact the 3 national credit reporting organizations to place a fraud alert on your name, and also 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 was made over the internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen and must contact you by telephone to authorize any 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', 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 you always need to contact if your wallet is lost or stolen:

  1. Equifax: (800) 525-6285
  2. Experian (formerly TRW): (888) 397-3742
  3. TransUnion: (800) 680-7289
  4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): (800) 269-0271