The following was sent to me by a former classmate, Dan Egan.
It is certainly very useful.
Some Good things to think about in our new and wondrous world!
Subject: Attorney's advice
ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGE
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.
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.
Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my
wallet
was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive
monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit
line
approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to
change my
driving record information online. 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.