FYI

This is very good information. Please make copies of it and share with
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> others.
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> ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGE
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> A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
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> company.
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> 1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
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> first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook,
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> they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or
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> your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
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> 2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID
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> REQUIRED."
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> 3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO
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> NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just
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> put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of
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> the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes
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> through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
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> 4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone.
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> If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do
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> not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed
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> on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if
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> you have it printed, anyone can get it.
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> 5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both
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> sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in
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> your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and
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> cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of
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> your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard
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> horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name,
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> address, Social Security number, credit cards.
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> 6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all
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> seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and
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> destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information
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> you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and
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> expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel,
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> can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.
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> Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my
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> wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an
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> expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card,
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> had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN
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> number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is
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> some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to
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> you or someone you know:
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> 1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately.
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> The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so
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> you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
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> 2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your
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> credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you
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> were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if
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> there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of
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> all (I never even thought to do this.)
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> 3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately
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> to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had
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> never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me
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> an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The
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> alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information
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> was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new
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> credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after
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> the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the
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> credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases,none of which I knew
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> about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has
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> been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone
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> turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
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> Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet
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> and contents being stolen:
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> 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
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> 2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
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> 3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
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> 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
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> We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about
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> everything.
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> Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass this information along, it
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> could really help someone about who you care.