Credit Cards/License Info

Posted By: Ginger
Date: Tuesday, 30 September 2003, at 2:31 p.m.

I received this and thought is was worth passin on.

Credit Cards/License
Good Information

A corporate attorney sent this out to the employees in his company.

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.

We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed using your name, address, SS#, credit, 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 those where you can find them easily. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen, this proves to credit providers 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 fraud alert on your name and SS#. 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 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.

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 in their tracks.

The numbers 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

Messages In This Thread

Credit Cards/License Info
Ginger -- Tuesday, 30 September 2003, at 2:31 p.m.

Re: Credit Cards/License Info
Eiko -- Saturday, 4 October 2003, at 4:52 p.m.

 

Post Response
Your Name:
Your E-Mail Address:
Subject:
Message:
If you'd like to include a link to another page with your message, please provide both the URL address and the title of the page:
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
If you'd like to include an image (picture) with your message, please provide the URL address of the image file:
Optional Image URL:
If you'd like to have the option of deleting your post later, please provide a password (CASE SENSITIVE!):
Password:
If you'd like e-mail notification of responses, please check this box:
Retype the following :