Identity Theft

 Back in August of 2001, I alerted the readers of my Newsletter about the serious problem of identity theft that was becoming more and more prevalent. Over the intervening years, the identity theft scams have grown by leaps and bounds. As these scam artists have become more sophisticated in the ways of finding subjects for them to latch on too, a great many more people have fallen prey to them. Those individuals, who have been targeted, will find that their lives will have changed drastically for many months and possibly many years to come.

It behooves all of us to be on constant alert, and to literally watch our backs at all times. This means that monitoring all financial transactions made, and statements received must be reviewed with a critical eye. Getting statements from credit card companies that are beyond the usual amounts of your usual purchases is definitely a red flag, and needs to be pursued immediately. Statements from your bank that show unusual withdrawals from your account need to be reported to the bank as soon as possible.

Should you receive a statement from a credit card company that is unfamiliar to you can signify that a new credit card was opened in your name. If your own credit card shows purchases, especially of large amounts that you know you haven’t made, can mean someone has gotten hold of your credit card number. When your phone bill, or your cellular phone bill show unusual calls being made, especially long distance calls for large amounts of money, your phone number has been usurped.

One such incident has happened to me. Once receiving my cellular statement, I noted that a great many calls had been placed to Canada and Texas in the amount of $400.00. Knowing that I had not made these calls, I called the company immediately. The phone number was immediately flagged, and I received a new number, and an investigation was set in motion by the company’s fraud investigative division.

Another incident occurred when I received a phone call from a supposed Government Agency. The gentleman calling informed me that there was a problem and he needed to verify my Social Security number. He identified himself as “John Dennison”. I asked him what the problem was and he said that some “Banks had given out social security numbers to third parties for promotional purposes and this was causing serious problems”. He also said “His agency was checking on these disclosures”. I promptly asked him for the name of his agency and the phone number where he could be reached. He responded that he was not permitted to give that out. I responded by hanging up.

There are so many ways that your personal information can be stolen, that we need to be on constant guard. You must properly dispose of all paperwork containing your social security number, bank account number or credit card number, preferably by shredding them. Should you have any inkling or even the remotest suspicion that your personal information may have been compromised, you have to report this to your bank, credit card companies, phone company and cellular company, so that they can monitor your account for any irregularities that are not the usual norm for your account.

The next step that has to be taken is that you need to report the possibility that your identity has been stolen to the three credit agencies. Ask them to place a fraud alert on your account. This is the contact information for these agencies.

1. Equifax             800-525-6285

2. Experian           800-397-3742

3. Trans Union     800-680-7289

The government has passed a law called, “Fair Credit Report”, allowing each individual to obtain a yearly credit report for free. This law went into affect, June 1, 2005. To obtain your credit report, call these companies at:

1. Equifax           800-685-1111

2. Experian         800-397-3742

3. Trans Union    800-916-8800

When you receive your report, check carefully to see if any fraudulent, unauthorized activity has been taking place. Also check to see if there were any unauthorized accounts that were opened or charges that you did not make.

You will also need to report to the Social Security Administration’s Fraud Hotline at:

800-269-0271. Report that there has been an unauthorized use of your personal identification number. Also contact your State’s Department of Motor Vehicles. Ask them to check if there was an unauthorized license number issued in your name. If it had, notify them that your are a victim of identity theft.

You also should file a report of identity theft to the “Federal Trade Commission” (FTC) by contacting their Theft Hotline by telephone at:
1-877-IDTHEFT, TDD: 202-326-2502.

To reach them by mail:

Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,  20580-0001

They can also be reached at: www.consumer.gov/idtheft . While on line ask them for a free copy of  “ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name”. This is a comprehensive guide to help you guard against, and recover from identity theft.