[Audie1]

Subject: Some Legal 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