Hi Everyone, This was sent to another group that I belong to and I thought that it sounded like good advice so I'm passing it along to you. > A good idea... Place the contents of your wallet on a > photocopy machine, do both sides of each license, credit > card, etc, you will know what you had in your wallet and > all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and > cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. > > A corporate attorney sent this out to the employees in his > company. I pass it along, for your information. We've > all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed us > in your name, address, SS#, credit, etc. Unfortunately I > (the author of this piece who happens to be an attorney) > have first hand knowledge, because my wallet was stolen > last month and within a week the thieve(s) ordered an > expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA > credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway > computer, > received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record > information online, and more. > But here's some critical information to limit the damage > in case this happens to you or someone you know. As > everyone always advises, cancel your credit cards > immediately, but the key is having the toll free numbers > and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep > those where you can find them easily. File a police report > immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen, this > proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a > first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). > But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never ever > thought to do this)- Call the three national credit > reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert > on your name and SS#. I had never heard of doing that > until advised by a bank that called to tell me an > application for credit was made over the Internet in my > name. The alert means any company that checks your credit > knows your information was stolen and they have to contact > you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was > advised to do this, > almost 2 weeks after the theft, all the damage had been > done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated > by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about > before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage > has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this > weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped > them in their tracks. > > The numbers are: Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 Experian > (formerly TRW): > 1-888-397-3742 Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289 Social Security > Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271 > > We pass along jokes; we pass along just about everything. > Do think about passing this information along. It could > really help someone. >