Fraud Protection Tips and Practices

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council
I received “one of those” frequently forwarded e-mail notes the other day. You know the kind, usually humorous, but of questionable or undisclosed origin? Something prompted me to look at this one, before hitting the delete key; I read it, and I felt the information was helpful, and deserved to be shared.

This was a list of personal fraud protection tips and practices that are simple to employ and could be of great value if you are the victim of identity theft. Here is a summary of what I learned.

1 - Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2 - When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the account number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3 – NEVER have your Social Security number pre-printed on your checks.

4 – Place the contents of your wallet on a copy machine, and photocopy it. Both sides of all licenses, cards, etc. Then put this copy in a safe location. You will know what was lost if your wallet is stolen, and most importantly, most cards have the “call if stolen” number on them. If the number to call to report a stolen card is not printed on the card, contact the card issuing business and add that number to the photocopy you just made.

5 – File a Police report immediately. This will demonstrate your good faith efforts to your credit card issuers. It will also assist in any subsequent investigation.

6 - Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name, and also call the Social Security fraud line number.
1) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3) Trans Union: 1-800-680 7289
4) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271