Protecting Your Identity

[starfire]

Check your credit report regularly. Make sure you recognize the entries.

Check your bank statements and credit card statements for any unfamiliar purchases.

Don’t put our Social Number on any documents, unless it is required.

Don’t leave your purse or billfold in your car or within view from outside your home.

Be careful how you discard canceled checks or credit card slips.

Use passwords on accounts that are not easy to discover, like you mother’s maiden name.

If It Happens To You

Call all credit bureaus and put a fraud watch on your account. Get a copy of your credit report.

File a police report. It could be necessity when you dispute charges with creditors.

Start writing letters to have fraudulent items removed from your credit report.

Be careful what you put on the Internet. Use only secure sites.

Call the Federal Trade Commission hotline for steps on how to prevent further identity theft and repair damages to your credit history. The number is 1-877-ID-THEFT.

Credit Reporting Agencies:

Equifax: To report fraud; [phone]

For all other inquires; [phone]

Experian: All calls [phone]

TransUnion: To report fraud [phone]

For all other inquires; [phone]

[Deleted]

I recently found out BY ACCIDENT that someone used my social security number to open a credit card account with MY credit card company...10 years ago!

Different name, different address, same SSN. How could my credit card company not catch this???
----
On a side note, a lot of places lead you to believe that you must give your SSN but in reality, you can request an ID number instead.

I have even resorted to telling them how sorry I am but I have no idea what my SSN is. When that happens, they're usually willing to accept my DL# instead.

/VM

[Kathy]

I had my Gold American Express for Business numbers stolen! I caught it fairly quickly since I watch those numbers & charges like a hawk.
Come to find out-when I signed up for long distance service the lady who took the info for automatic payments was keeping the CC numbers and the 3 digits ID's on the back! She'd stolen close to 100 numbers and had rotated through them so if folks weren't vigilant they wouldn't catch that one odd charge every few months.

After that scare I am even more aware of how easy it is to be the victim of Identity theft and CC number theft.

[starfire]

I was told once you don't have to give your whole social at places that need them. You can give only the last 4. I haven't tried this so I don't know if that is true.

[dlangland]

starfire said:

I was told once you don't have to give your whole social at places that need them. You can give only the last 4. I haven't tried this so I don't know if that is true.

I have done collections for 2 dif banks/credit card companies in past yrs. That's what we did, although we always asked addtional security questions also...a long list we could pick or choose from yet had to ask so many from the set each time. For people who would refuse to even give out the last 4 digits of their social, even though we still had it on file, they could substitute a password on the acct. instead if they requested it. We didn't go around and just offer that, though.

Years back, I cancelled one of my big name credit cards I had for yrs. but rarely used. I called to ask a question. The young man took only my acct. #, didn't even ask my name or any other security information whatsoever, and just started telling me any old thing I wanted to know. I thought I was dreaming, so I told him what I thought and cancelled the acct. on the spot. He explained when I asked that they changed their security policy to make their card more user-friendly. That fried me. Deb

[Deleted]

I have started shredding any credit card applications or anything with my name, address on it.
I also watch my credit card. I shredded mine and sent it back to the company. :-XAfter I had canceled and shredded the card, I got a bill for some magazines. ???I called and raised cain with the credit card company and disputed the charges.
I have about decided to shred all of them.

I refuse to give out my social security number I tell them it is against the law for me to give out that information
tnborn

[Deleted]

bump

[Kathy]

Lately, I've heard of a service from some CC companies where you can get a temporary one time number to use for a purchase online. That way your Credit Card isn't in jeopardy since the seller won't have your real numbers-just the temporary one.

I haven't looked into this further since I seldom use my only CC for purchases-it's an emergency only card or if I need to rent a car.

[Deleted]

good info.

[dirty]

.gov tells us not to give out our SS#. yet it seems every organization i come i contact with, NEEDS my SS#.


list off the top of my head
- bank
- 529 plan admin
- mutual fund
- union


the worst is there is never a work around for filling out forms on the net.