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Identity Protection
We pass along jokes; we pass along just about everything.
Do think about passing this information along.
It could really help someone you care about.
I get info from many sources, and combine it here ... it all looks legitimate, but one of the ways the scam artists rip us off is by creating sites that LOOK LIKE THE REAL THING. It is imperative that you attempt to verify any source is legitimate before you give them your social security #, name address phone #, account # or anything else.
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be with your Bank, Telephone Company, Gas and Electric, or your Internet Service Provider (ISP) stating that your "account information needs to be updated" or that "the credit card you signed up with is invalid or expired and the information needs to be reentered to keep your account active," contact the Billing department of the outfit directly. This could be a scam designed to rob you blind.
Before the Internet, there were tons of ways people could steal information about you, use it to drain your finances and reputation. The Internet has just complicated the task of protecting yourself. As we consider how to protect ourselves, we need to include the Internet dimension, but not forget the other dimensions.
- www.consumer.gov/idtheft = US Government (FTC) official site with info about Identity Theft 877-ID THEFT
- www.cybersnitch.net = a way to report Internet crimes we happen to witness, or be a victim of. Also students can report what they see at school without fear of reprisal. I trust and hope that anonymous reports are properly investigated before trouble might happen to someone wrongfully accused.
- www.idtheftcenter.org = Identity Theft Resource Center FAQ with support in English and Spanish 858-693-7935
- www.privacyrights.org Privacy Rights Clearinghouse = Nonprofit specializing in privacy and ID theft, 619-298-3396
- www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect = US Postal Inspector vs. swindles ... you can be conned on Internet, mail $ to the swindlers, realize you been swindled, then the Postal Service can do something about the fact that the con artists were getting paid by US mail.
- www.treas.gov/usss/index.html = US Secret Service ... they handle financial crimes such as the Nigerian scam
This 'essay' is a collection of what seems to be good advice that I have received from multiple different sources. For similar topics written to this weblog by Al Macintyre, see: Stop Identity Theft, Banking Stories and Stop Phone Spam; Security and e-law categories; also my post on spam and scam protection. Sometimes a link to one of my stories gets inexplicably broken (with the title in double quotes not being properly translated into a hyperlink, and I cannot figure out how to fix it on a timely basis. Use this directory of my stories as a backup if need be. http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/ You can also use the envelope at bottom of column to the left to send me an e-mail. I have additional Word documents detailing topics of personal security issues, that can be sent upon request as e-mail attachments.
Assess your risk with the Identity Quotient Test, then every behavior that got you points placing you at risk (my overall risk is average - it reminded me of things I ought to be more careful about), rethink what you want to do about it to lower your risk.
The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them, if someone takes your check book 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.
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 you can add it if it is necessary but have it printed and anyone can get it.
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.
When the print is microscopic, crank up the size to make sure you have clarity of what you need.
Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Perhaps an envelope near where you keep your income tax and investment data. Perhaps trade copy of this with a relative who does not share your home, so that in the event of serious something happening to you, someone else that you trust, has a copy of what was in your wallet. Think traffic accident for example, or violence on your person. Someone to communicate with the police on your behalf.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed in stealing a name, address, Social Security, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. (Al Mac is not an attorney ... I am quoting an alleged source of advice.)
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:
We have been told we should cancel your credit cards immediately. Ask that their records be marked "account closed at customer's request" for credit checking purposes, or whatever phraseology they will allow so as to protect you when thief continues to try to use it.
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.
There are services which can record all your credit accounts for you, and with one phone call to them, they then notify all your accounts for you. If you use such a service, keep them informed on all your accounts, and stick their phone # where you can find it in a hurry.
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). Get a copy of the police report or the case number.
But here's what is perhaps most important:
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. Before anything is ever stolen from you, you can ask them not to give out any information on you to marketers, just the absolute minimum needed for people really doing business with you. This will cut down on the phone calls from companies trying to sell you something because they found out from your credit record that you are a good customer.
An application for credit can be made over the Internet in our 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.
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:
Social Security Administration (fraud line):
1-800-269-0271
Call the police where you live. Get a copy of their report. Ask them if you should keep them informed as you dig up additional evidence. If the police not seem interested, ask what should be your action if you are successful in locating the perpetrator on your own. I am so angry I am afraid I might kill that person who is pretending to be me.
Keep a log of all conversations with authorities and financial entities.
Have a check list of what each place needs to be told.
- Your credit has been stolen. Their fraud department needs to be notified. Your account needs to be flagged appropriately.
- You want a victim's statement added to their records that requests they contact you to confirm future credit applications in your name.
- Call each and every credit agency to report the problem. Get copies of your credit reports with them, and study the reports to identify what appears to be fraudulent accounts ... companies claiming to do business with you that you knew nothing about.
- Identify fraudulent accounts. Contact 100% of those creditors. Tell them this is a case of ID theft in which you want copies of all application and transaction info that was done in your name.
Follow up phone conversations with a letter formerly reminding them of what requests you might have made to mark your account so as to block access by the thieves.
If you get stuff in the mail that looks like an account has been opened in your name that you know nothing about, you need to take prompt action because someone else may have opened the account, gone on a spending spree, gonna disappear and you get stuck with the bills.
www.cybersnitch.net has advice how to protect your Internet activity from identity theft vulnerability, to which I have added some of my own advice.
- Remember that if you use same password for everything, as soon as any one place you do business with gets hacked, then your password is known to the hacker for every place you do business with. Come up with a system for passwords so that you can have different passwords for different places that really need a password (a lot of places don't), and you can figure out your password each place without storing it where someone might steal what you have stored.
- Protect your passwords and persional identification numbers (PIN) for your ATM card, credit cards, and online accounts.
- If you have to key in password or PIN to some on-line place, think about the phone line being used. If you have a cellular phone on the same line as the computer, and it is off the hook, then it is transmitting in the clear everything you doing on the computer, including account number PIN # and so forth, in which thieves can record that info, then when you are done, they sign on and drain your accounts.
- Do not give out financial information such as checking acoount, credit card #s, social security #, etc. to a web site or to anyone on-line unless you initiate the communication and know the person or organization that you are dealing with. Be sure that when personal info has to be given to verify a transaction, that it is done over as secure a connection as is possible.
- Never give personal information to a stranger, on Internet, by Phone, or other means, even if they claim to represent a legitimate organization that you are doing business with, or some credit agency. Ask to see proof that they have a right to this info. Consider how ridiculous it is when someone calls, claiming to be a representative of your phone company, who asks you for your phone# or address. If they really from that outfit, they already know that.
- If some organization/company/business sends you an e-mail, asking for your info to 'verify a statement' or 'award a prize' in which you had no prior contact with them, this probably means there is some scam going on, and you would do well to contact that outfit by some means OTHER than e-mail back to the address that sent it to you, to say that you know nothing about this ... either some outfit is misidentifying themselves as them, or someone is misidentifying themselves as you to them.
The various credit card companies have advice for their customers on how to use their credit on the Internet in a way that keeps you as safe as possible from fraud. Here are some urls you might want to review to see what advice you need that you might not have realized you need.
© Copyright 2002 Al Macintyre.
Last update: 12/16/2002; 1:15:02 AM.
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