MISSISSIPPI WEB SITE
2007
STEVEN
A. McCALEB
103 ALVERADO DRIVE
LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI 39560
PHONE & FAX: (228)-868-8428
Awarded 19 June 1969
Just a reminder!!!
provided by: Jim cheek
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it
someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice!
A corporate Attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
company.
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 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. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home Phone.
If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do
not have a PO Box, use your work address.
Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it
is necessary.
4. 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. I also carry a Photocopy of my
passport when I travel either here or abroad.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in
stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.
Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have firsthand 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, 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:
5. We have been told we should cancel our 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.
6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your
credit cards, etc., were stolen.
This proves to credit Providers you were diligent, and this is a first
step toward an Investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important of all:
7. 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. 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 two 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 dead in their
tracks.
Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet,
etc., has been stolen:
1.) Equifax: 800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union: 800-6807289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):800-269-0271
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about
everything.
If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help
someone that you care about.