Tips to Protect Your Credit and Your Identity
by Michael Sisk

Criminals want to get your data so they can use your credit, open new credit or phone accounts, and run up debt in your name.

Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name and credit record.

There are many ways that identity thieves can obtain your personal and credit card information. These include:

• Buying data on the black market.
• Stealing your mail
• Going through your trash.
• Reading the data from your credit card through illegal devices at ATMs or retailers.
• Hacking into online transactions.
• Completing a change of address form in your name to reroute your mail to them.

Here are several smart tips to help you avoid being a victim:

1. When you order checks, have the printer print only your initials and last name on the checks. Don't print your first name. If someone gets your checkbook, they won't know if you sign your checks with your initials or your first name. Your bank knows how you sign your checks, and they will usually notice incorrect signatures and contact you.
2. Don't sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, write PHOTO ID
   REQUIRED.
3. When you are writing checks to pay your credit card accounts, DO NOT write the complete credit card account number on the "For" line. Instead, write only the last four numbers of the credit card account number. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
4. Print your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone number.
5. If you have a PO Box, print that address instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.
6. Never have your Social Security number printed on your checks. You can write it on the check, if necessary. But if you have it printed, everyone receiving one of your checks will have it.
7. Copy the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Copy both sides of each document (license, credit cards, etc.). If your wallet is lost or stolen, you will have a list of the items you lost with the account numbers and phone numbers you will need to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.
8. Carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling, both in the US and out of the country.
9. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to use them now), do not turn the plastic "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. The cards have a magnetic stripe containing all of the information that you gave the hotel, including your address, credit card number, and expiration date. Someone with a card reader, or an employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.

One victim wrote, "Unfortunately, I have first-hand knowledge, because my wallet was stolen last month. 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, and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information on-line."

Take immediate measures to protect your credit and identity and limit the damage if this happens to you or someone you know:

1. Cancel your credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free phone numbers and account numbers handy, so you know whom to call. Keep the information where you can find it.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers that you were diligent. This is also a necessary step towards an investigation (if there ever is one).
3. Most important of all, call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. The phone numbers are listed below for your convenience. The fraud alert will signal any company that checks your credit that your information was stolen, and they will have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. You should be called if anyone files an an application for credit over the Internet in your name.

Within two weeks after the theft, all the damage has been done by the bad guys. You must act quickly to prevent this from happening. After you call the credit agencies, no additional damage should be incurred. Reporting the theft seems to stop the bad guys dead in their tracks.

Once a year you can obtain a free credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies and from AnnualCreditReport.com. Click the orange link to begin.

Here are the numbers of the three main credit reporting companies and the Social Security Administration Fraud Hot Line.

• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
• Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
• Social Security Administration (Fraud Line): 1-800-269-0271

Protecting Your Child's Social Security Number

As if protecting your own identity weren't difficult enough, now you've got something else to worry about: making sure your children's personal information isn't stolen. From summer camps to dentists, more services are using kids' social security numbers as personal identifiers. It may be convenient for the service provider, but it could prove ruinous to your child's credit if his or her social security number falls into the wrong hands.

Often the best approach a parent can take when asked for a child's social security number is a simple but polite refusal. If you do decide to give out the number, ask for a privacy policy first. And if you happen to see lax security practices in offices where sensitive records are kept—say, an elementary school principal's office or a dentist's waiting room—don't be afraid to pipe up.

You may also want to periodically request your child's credit report just to see if he or she has one. If somebody has opened up multiple fraudulent credit card accounts under your child's name, you don't want to find out about it when they're applying for student loans and discover their credit is already wrecked. Read more >

To comment on, to correct, or to update this article or to share information on this subject, please write to Michael Sisk at msisk@mbasandiego.org or phone 858-273-3036.

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