Identity Theft

[StrawberryFields]

This has been a concern of mine and maybe yours.

Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity

Your 5-minute guide to protecting your identity

Here are 16 steps to protect yourself and six ways to clean up things if you are a victim of identity theft.

Thieves may sell your information on the black market or use it to obtain money, credit or even expensive medical procedures. Unless you're vigilant in protecting your records, you'll have to work even harder to repair the damage to your credit. The average victim spends 30 to 40 hours rectifying the problem.

Some of the e-threats to your identity are:

Phishing. You get an e-mail that appears to be from your bank or an online service, most often PayPal or eBay, instructing you to click on a link and provide information to verify your account.

Pharming or spoofing. Hackers redirect a legitimate Web site's traffic to an impostor site, where you'll be asked to provide confidential information.

Smishing. This is phishing done with text messaging on your smart phone. It instructs you to visit a bogus Web site.

Spyware. You've unknowingly downloaded illicit software when you've opened an attachment, clicked on a pop-up or downloaded a song or a game. Criminals can use spyware to record your keystrokes and obtain credit card numbers, bank-account information and passwords when you make purchases or conduct other business online. They also can access confidential information on your hard drive.

You don't need to have a computer to become a victim. (See "How safe is your financial information?")

Vishing -- voice phishing. You get an automated phone message asking you to call your bank or credit card company. Even your caller ID is fooled. You call the number and are asked to punch in your account number, PIN or other personal information (See "Your phone may be under attack.")

ATM skimming. Crooks use a combination of a fake ATM slot and cameras to record your account information and PIN when you use a cash machine.

Crooks will steal your wallet, or go through your mail or trash.

More than half of identity theft cases involve credit card fraud. Checking accounts are the second most popular target. (See "Keep thieves out of your bank account.") But some crooks have other plans:

At least 250,000 people have been the victim of medical identity theft in the last several years. (See "Diagnosis: Identity theft.") Crooks use fraudulently obtained personal information to get expensive medical procedures or dupe insurance companies into paying for procedures that were not done.

The victims of about 5% of reported identity theft cases are children. The fraud often goes undetected for years -- until the young adult applies for credit. (See "Stolen innocence: Child identity theft.")

16 tips to protect yourself

You can take steps to protect yourself from identity fraud:

Keep your confidential information private. Your bank or credit card company won't call or e-mail to ask for your account information. They already have it.

Keep an inventory of everything in your wallet and your PDA, including account numbers. Don't keep your Social Security card in your wallet.

Stop getting banking and credit card information in the mail. (See "Go paperless for safer banking.")

Monitor your bank and credit card transactions for unauthorized use. Crooks with your account numbers usually start small to see if you'll notice.

If you conduct business online, use your own computer. A public computer is less secure, as is wireless Internet.

Look for suspicious devices and don't let anyone stand nearby when you use an ATM. Take your card and receipt with you. Keep your PIN in your head, not your wallet.

Don't store credit card numbers and other financial information on your cell phone. (See "Is your cell phone spilling your secrets?")

Protect your computer from vulnerability:

Install anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall protection, and keep them up to date.

Don't open e-mails from strangers. Malware can be hidden in embedded attachments and graphics files.

Don't open attachments unless you know who sent them and what they contain. Never open executable attachments. Configure Windows so that the file extensions of known file types are not hidden.

Don't click on pop-ups. Configure Windows or your Web browser to block them.

Don't provide your credit card number online unless you are making a purchase from a Web site you trust. Reputable sites will always direct you to a secure page with an URL starting with https:// whenever you actually make purchases or are asked to provide confidential information.

Use strong passwords: at least six characters, including at least one symbol and number, and no reference to your name or other personal information. Use a different password for every site that requires one, and change passwords regularly.

Never send a user name, password or other confidential information via e-mail.

Consider turning off your computer when you're not using it or at least putting it in standby mode.

Don't keep passwords, tax returns and other financial information on your hard drive.

6 steps to clean up the mess

If you suspect your identity may be compromised, place a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus. When you place an alert, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. After that, take advantage of the free annual reports the bureaus are required to give all consumers. Stagger your requests so that you get a report every four months.

If you've been phished, contact the bank or company named in the fraudulent e-mail. You also may want to notify the Internet Crime Complaint Center and forward the e-mail to [email protected].

If you are the victim of identity theft, take the following steps:

Make an identity-theft report to the police and get a copy. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

Close accounts that have been tampered with. Contact each company by phone and again by certified letter. Make sure the company notifies you in writing that the disputed charges have been erased. Document each conversation and keep all records.

Place a seven-year fraud alert or, if you live in a state that allows it, a "freeze" on your credit reports. (See "Lock your credit away from ID thieves.")

Begin the process of having the fraudulent information removed from your credit reports. (See "Don't let credit-report errors fester.")

Find victim support at the Identity Theft Resource Center.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banki...urIdentity.aspx

[Brother Dorsey]

For more information on this very important topic send your SSN#, checking account number, major credit card information, valid drivers license info and your bank PIN number to [email protected].

You will receive a speedy response and a handy dandy toaster just for signing up!

[pam]

Awesome I need a new toaster. Does it have 4 slots?

[FrankJL]

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

If so expect my e-mail shortly..

On a more serious note..

It mentions nothing at all about check washing, and thats one of the main things that people are getting hit with now.

Watch and see how easy it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8w5nTaKU6Gw

[begood2]

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

If so expect my e-mail shortly..

On a more serious note..

It mentions nothing at all about check washing, and thats one of the main things that people are getting hit with now.

Watch and see how easy it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8w5nTaKU6Gw

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing the imformation!

[Dr T]

ID theft has happened to me two times so far. It also happened to my brother-in-law (at it really took him for a spin). People do the some bad things.

[Annabelli]

Let us not over look identify theft to secure employment. There are many who use people's education credentials to get valuable jobs. Most famous stories have been about college professors and touring psychologist who turned out to be frauds. Military identity theft is another favorite of creeps.

As for check washing....don't put your payments on your mailbox for postal pickup.

[Guest MissyCat]

My brother in law is a meth addict, he has taught his kids how to steal credit cards and atm cards from people right at the check out lines in grocery stores!

Ladies, when you are in a crowded checkout line in Wal Mart - do you keep your purse in the child seat part of the shopping cart? Most of you have your purses right there in the seat and the purse is open.

When you are emptying your cart, your eyes are not on the purse. That is when fast, slick little hands can swipe your purse. Then they quickly write down the numbers on your credit cards and or atm card, then they dump the wallet back into your purse.

Now when you go to use it, they watch to see what you are punching in - your pin or do you sign your name?

Are you really paying attention to the kids dashing around the store? Sliding in and around the carts - poking each other, etc. Once they have your pin they run off and give Daddy the number of the card and the pin. If it is a credit card, that is all he really needs to know. Now he can go and sell it or use it On-line!!!

I still keep my purse in the seat portion of the cart - BUT I have my debit card and the store discount card in my pocket. My wallet is attached to the inside of my purse and my purse is zipped shut. Before I punch in my pin, I look around me. I don't care if I look paranoid or not, and if there is someone who is within my 5 feet of personal space I ask them to move back or move away. If they won't, then I take my purse and use it as a shield so they can not see the screen.

My bil also stole his own mothers SSA# and her good credit and sold it for the price of meth. We are still getting letters from collection agencies demanding that she pay her bills. Three came in this week - one from a hospital. She has never been to a hospital. She gave birth to all her babies at home even. My MIL is in the very late stages of Alzheimer's - so we aren't about to dispute the claims, nor are we going to even attempt to repair the massive damage he has done. I carefully open the envelopes to see what they say, then reseal them, write DECEASED - RETURN TO SENDER on the front and give them to my mail man.

So be aware of what is going on around you as you shop. Oh another hint - don't have your new credit cards come to you at home or via the mail. Have them go to your bank, then go and pick them up. I happened to get to our mailbox just before some junkies got to it. They had already riffled through my neighbors mail boxes. We are somewhat rural and all of our mail boxes are on a long post at the corner. I have all of our meds that come via the mail come to me at work now too. Since one very large shipment of meds got stolen from our mailbox.

[Brother Dorsey]

My brother in law is a meth addict, he has taught his kids how to steal credit cards and atm cards from people right at the check out lines in grocery stores!

When you are in a crowded checkout line in Wal Mart - do you keep your purse in the child seat part of the shopping cart? Most of you have your purses right there in the seat and the purse is open.

When you are emptying your cart, your eyes are not on the purse. That is when fast, slick little hands can swipe your purse. Then they quickly write down the numbers on your credit cards and or atm card, then they dump the wallet back into your purse.

I keep my purse in my back pocket.....

sorry, couldn't resist.....which brings up another lifelong eternal question which in fact most men ponder daily.....what the heck do women have in those things that weighs so much? I picked up my wifes purse the other day and holy moly it must have weighed in at 6lbs..! I think women need 2 purses....one that will fit neatly in their back pocket which contains their credit/debit cards, drivers license, Temple reccomend and other important things and the other will hold all their important essentials...make-up, a couple pounds of paper receipts, candy wrappers, old keys which fit nothing, junk mail, etc., etc.

[pushka]

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

If so expect my e-mail shortly..

On a more serious note..

It mentions nothing at all about check washing, and thats one of the main things that people are getting hit with now.

Watch and see how easy it is:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8w5nTaKU6Gw

I feel so silly after watching that video link...over here in the UK we spell CHEQUE not CHECK...so when I first read your post, I wondered what we could possibly have on our washing that would contain info for identity theft!! The thought of checking my washing seemed ridiculous, lol.

[StrawberryFields]

A few weeks ago there was a call on our answering machine at home. The woman asked for my son to call her back concerning his credit card and gave a phone number plus a reference number. I was a bit concerned and so I took the information to him and told him I would sit right next to him while he spoke to her but not to give any personal information out. He gave her the reference number and then she asked him for his mailing address I nodded my head that it was okay. She then asked him if he had used his credit card to purchase something online at 2 am the night before at three different merchants naming each one. He had said that he had not used that particular card since April. The lady then told him that it was because of his inactivity of the credit card and the out of town location of where the calls were coming from that caused the RED FLAGS. They said that none of the purchases had been authorized except for one that had gone through for a dollar. They told him that they would block all charges on that card and he would need to get a new one. Later I called our local branch where the card was from and asked them to look into it. I am also a signer on the account so they gave me the information they could. Apparently there are people who can identify many of the same first digits on credit card that banks offer and from there they play with the numbers and then the expiation date. In my sons case they got lucky and guessed the entire thing. Lucky for us there are a people who sit and watch for strange things to happen such as this.

I remember a few years back we were in Florida on vacation and we used a credit card to purchase theme park tickets. The lady at the ticket booth was prompted to call our card issuer and then they wanted to speak with us on the phone to verify our identity. I was grateful then but in today’s world even more grateful now.

[Dr T]

Thanks for that link. It comes out so clean. I'll have to inform my wife and friends.

[StrawberryFields]

Does anyone know where to get this gel pen?

[Dr T]

Almost anywhere. I have some cheep gel pens and they write really nice. I got them at Walmart Pilot G7 I think they're called. I hope those are the right type. I love them.

[miztrniceguy]

A few weeks ago there was a call on our answering machine at home. The woman asked for my son to call her back concerning his credit card and gave a phone number plus a reference number. I was a bit concerned and so I took the information to him and told him I would sit right next to him while he spoke to her but not to give any personal information out. He gave her the reference number and then she asked him for his mailing address I nodded my head that it was okay. She then asked him if he had used his credit card to purchase something online at 2 am the night before at three different merchants naming each one. He had said that he had not used that particular card since April. The lady then told him that it was because of his inactivity of the credit card and the out of town location of where the calls were coming from that caused the RED FLAGS. They said that none of the purchases had been authorized except for one that had gone through for a dollar. They told him that they would block all charges on that card and he would need to get a new one. Later I called our local branch where the card was from and asked them to look into it. I am also a signer on the account so they gave me the information they could. Apparently there are people who can identify many of the same first digits on credit card that banks offer and from there they play with the numbers and then the expiation date. In my sons case they got lucky and guessed the entire thing. Lucky for us there are a people who sit and watch for strange things to happen such as this.

I remember a few years back we were in Florida on vacation and we used a credit card to purchase theme park tickets. The lady at the ticket booth was prompted to call our card issuer and then they wanted to speak with us on the phone to verify our identity. I was grateful then but in today’s world even more grateful now.

i work for the largest credit card company in the world.

you did the right thing with your son. just be careful what you give out. our Fraud Early Warning dept (FEW) may call you at the number listed on your acct to verify activity. the may leave a valid number for calling back. caution: there are bad people that do the same thing, too and when you call you verify your number, and it is not the cc company. my personal recommendation is to call the number listed on the card, instead of the number listed on the phone. i have taken many phone calls for this. sometimes there is no info listed that we called. this is most often a fraud attempt. if we call you, it will be noted to your acct.

when you are planning to travel, call us to let us know where you'll be going, then you won't get stopped and your card "declined". having been a gas station manager for over 20 years, i know that sometimes it is busy, and a clerk will say a card was declined, when in fact they were prompted to call for authorization. a merchant has to call a different number for authorization than that which is on the card. many clerks have trouble remembering where the book with their numbers are at, and it can be a long process, so it is easier to say it was declined, and hope for antoher form of payment.

miztrniceguy

[Dr T]

miztrniceguy,

What percentage and about how much money do you think that CC company gets left hold the bag for other's debt?

[FrankJL]

Its not just any gel pen.

Its the uni-bal 207.

Its how I first learned about it.

I always liked those pens and use them in school, one day after buying them I was reading the back of the package. Before that I've never heard of check washing. It just happened to be a coincidence because I like those pens.

http://www.uniball-na.com/main.taf?p=9

You can get them pretty much anywhere, I usually get mine at wal-mart.

[the Ogre]

My brother in law is a meth addict, he has taught his kids how to steal credit cards and atm cards from people right at the check out lines in grocery stores!

My youngest brother is also addicted to meth. He has chaged so much over the years of his addiction. It is hard to recognize who is by both physical appearance and behavior.

When we get together as a family we lock everything of value away. We want him to feel welcom, but we don't want him to steal from us. Still, that does not stop him. We have learned that DVDs, CDs, used tools, used kitchen utensils and small appliances, picture frames, and knick-knacks have monetary value. My mom has gotten so tired of this petty theft, that most of our family activities are held at my brother's toddler-proof house (he has twin red-headed boys and a re-headed daughter all under four years old).

We learned the hard way after he stole my sister-in-law's purse during a Christmas visit while my brother was serving with the SF in Aphganistan. He liquified her checking account and sold her credit-card that night. He spent time in jail for it, but as soon as he got out, he was back at his old tricks. It is hard to visit with him, but we try--he is family and we hope he will return to church activity one day.

We seriously thought about never allowing him to visit us, shunning him in a kind of a way, but we thought that would only make things worse.

I saw him on the forth for a while. I think he was sober, but he left as soon as my SF-brother showed up with his family.

Aaron the Ogre

[miztrniceguy]

miztrniceguy,

What percentage and about how much money do you think that CC company gets left hold the bag for other's debt?

i work in sales, so i dont know. i really wish our fraud dept had an office in Kansas City. i would love to work in that dept, but it's in south dakota, and florida

[shanstress70]

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

Hey... I have one of those... love it! Cooks the perfect egg and heats a piece of ham while it toasts the bread for a sandwich. It's all ready at the same time... in 4 minutes.

http://www.eggandmuffintoaster.com/

Sorry

[Guest Yediyd]

<div class='quotemain'>

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

Hey... I have one of those... love it! Cooks the perfect egg and heats a piece of ham while it toasts the bread for a sandwich. It's all ready at the same time... in 4 minutes.

http://www.eggandmuffintoaster.com/

Sorry WOW!!! Can ya get that thing to wash the dishes afterwards?

[FrankJL]

Where can I get one?

I don't see anyplace to order on that site

[miztrniceguy]

Where can I get one?

I don't see anyplace to order on that site

walmart has them...i want one too

[pushka]

<div class='quotemain'> <div class='quotemain'>

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

Hey... I have one of those... love it! Cooks the perfect egg and heats a piece of ham while it toasts the bread for a sandwich. It's all ready at the same time... in 4 minutes.

http://www.eggandmuffintoaster.com/

Sorry WOW!!! Can ya get that thing to wash the dishes afterwards?

Double Wow!! lol.

Love the bit about the washing up Yed, I don't even have a dishwasher

[Guest Yediyd]

<div class='quotemain'>

<div class='quotemain'> <div class='quotemain'>

Is it one of those ones that can cook an egg too?

Hey... I have one of those... love it! Cooks the perfect egg and heats a piece of ham while it toasts the bread for a sandwich. It's all ready at the same time... in 4 minutes.

http://www.eggandmuffintoaster.com/

Sorry WOW!!! Can ya get that thing to wash the dishes afterwards?

Double Wow!! lol.

Love the bit about the washing up Yed, I don't even have a dishwasher

I do, now...but when I was married and NOT lds...my husband's idea of loading the dishwasher was getting ME drunk!!!!