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Personal Finance . . .
PROTECTING YOUR IDENTITY
-- PART II
In Part I of protecting your
identity, I discussed minimizing your risk if your identity is
stolen. Some of the suggestions included never carrying your
social security card in your wallet or purse; not writing your
pin number on your credit cards or ATM card; and shedding all
bills and any other important paper items with your personal
information on it. Another suggestion is to alert your creditors
if you do not receive a statement. Someone could have diverted
your mail and collected your credit card numbers. The most
important move you should make is to place passwords on your
credit accounts. REMEMBER; do not use your nick name, your pets
name, your birth date or any other distinguishing name
associated with you. Most of the time, if the thief did not
steal your identity from information they found, it may be a
family member or friend.
Elderly persons are most at-risk to identity theft because most
elderly persons have recognized the importance of good credit
and most have savings and other valuable property. A lot of
elderly persons are dependent on others for care and as such are
in a vulnerable position where identity theft can easily occur.
I participated in an investigation where we busted a group that
made phony credit cards. The ring would get credit card numbers
from various sources and create driver’s licenses and social
security cards to match and sent their runners out to run up
unauthorized charges. When the police busted their operation,
they had credit card machines with plates for the different
credit cards such as American Express, Visa, Master Card,
Discovery and different department stores.
The ring would also receive orders from customers who were in
this country illegally or who just wanted a new identity. The
new identity included a social security number and drivers
license. The person was able to work and drive a car. The cost
for this kind of service runs around $2,000 to $3,000. I had a
client once who received a letter from the Internal Revenue
Service stating they owed $12,000 in back taxes, interest, and
penalties. The IRS stated that the client had not reported wages
in the amount of $21,000. It took the client almost two years to
get the matter resolved.
One way to minimize your risk from someone stealing your
identity is not to give out information over the telephone. For
example, someone may call you stating you've just won something
and all they need is to verify your address and social security
number. Another scheme used often is to state that you are a
good credit customer and the company wants to increase your
credit line and again wants to verify your information. If this
should happen to you, your response should be that you do not
give out this information over the telephone. If it is a
department store or credit card company calling, tell them that
whatever information they have on file is correct and nothing
has changed. The most important thing you can do is hang up
immediately. Do not get into any conversations with these
people. REMEMBER, they are professionals and have all kinds of
answers to any statements you may make and will talk you into
giving the information they want even though you are reluctant
to give the information.
If you discover that you are a victim of identity theft, you
should act quickly. You must contact all of your creditors
letting them know what happened. You are responsible for the
first $50.00, however if you wait, you may be responsible for a
lot more, if not all. You should have a list of your credit
cards and their numbers in a safe place. On this list you should
have the telephone number to call in an emergency.
Here are the steps to take immediately should you become a
victim. Contact the fraud division of the three credit reporting
agencies to let them know you have been a victim of identity
theft. Equifax: 800-525-6285; Experian: 888-397-3742; and Trans
Union: 800-680-7289. Request they place a "fraud alert" on your
file. This alert will warn lenders to be especially careful in
authenticating identity of anyone claiming to be you. It will
mean that you cannot open instant credit, for example, at a
retail store, but that is a minor inconvenience in light of the
damage identity theft will do to you. Because some people are
vigilant, it has taken up to three years to recover from
identity theft. I always suggest to my clients they place a
strip on their credit where the signature line is stating: ASK
FOR IDENTIFICATION.
The next thing you should do is file a report with the police
department. Because identity theft is on the rise, most police
departments have stolen identity task forces set up. There was a
report in the news several weeks ago where several people had
started using the identity of persons who died in the World
Trade Center incident on September 11, 2001. The thieves have at
least 6,000 plus identities they can choose from. Do you see how
fast the thieves have started acting on this information? It
could happen to you the same way.
The most important thing you must do is contact, in writing, the
creditors that have fraudulent charges on your credit reports
and tell them the charges are fraudulent and to remove them from
your accounts. Explain to them the actions that you have taken
and give the police report number and the name of the detective
that is assigned to your case. Ask to have your accounts closed
and request a new account and remember to put a password on the
accounts. Again, when your identity is stolen, it will take some
time before the situation is straightened out. You must be
patient.
Any questions? You can
contact me at:
pi-eye@investigator-ct.com or visit my website at:
http://www.investigator-ct.com/pi-eye.html.
Be careful!
Christine Adams Tripp, JD is a licensed
private investigator in the State of California. She teaches law
and private investigations in several colleges and vocational
schools. Ms. Tripp has been an investigator since 1969 and
teaching since 1983.
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