Mortgage Monday with Scott Mulvany

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Tips on Preventing Fraud and Steps to Take if Your Personal Information is Lost or Stolen

1.

1.  Do not sign the back of your credit cards.  Instead, put                                             

           “PHOTO ID REQUIRED” or “ASK 4 ID.”

 

2.      2. When writing checks to pay your credit card accounts,
     DO NOT put the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead,
     Put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of
     the account number. This will prevent anyone who might be handling your

3.           check as it passes through all the check processing full account numbers.

 

3.     3. 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.  Never have your SS#  
      printed on your checks, anyone can get it. 

 

4.   Make 3 sets of photo copies of the contents in your wallet an your passport;

      1) Keep 1 copy in a safe place at home. 2) Keep a travel copy when you are on

      vacation.  3) Leave a copy with a good friend or family member when you

      are traveling.  Copy both sides of each license and credit cards.  Copy all  

      personal  information from passports. If your wallet is lost or stolen you will 

      have copies of the account numbers and phone numbers handy.

 

     What to do if your wallet is stolen:

 

1.  Cancel credit cards immediately.

 

2.  File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your belongings

     were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent. This is also the first

     step toward an investigation if one is ever required.

 

3.  Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately and the Social Security    

     fraud line to place a fraud alert.  This should prevent new accouts from being      

     opened. Companies will also have to contact you directly to open new accounts, and 

     verify or change information.

 

Equifax:             1-800-525-6285

Experian:           1-888-397-3742

Trans Union :     1-800-680 7289

Social Security Administration: 1-800-269-0271

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