© by Leslie Sausage - leslie@frugalhomemaker.com
The problem of identity theft is an epidemic. Modern day criminals acquire your social security number, your mother's maiden name and one of your credit card numbers and they pretty much have the keys to your vault. The criminals steal from you armed only with these three pieces of information and some forged blank checks.
This following information may be helpful if your are a victim of fraud:
Remove the contents of your wallet and photocopy both sides of each license, credit card, etc. This way 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.
We've heard horror stories about fraud that's committed. Unfortunately, if your wallet is stolen, the thief may do any number of things with your information. They may make purchases, apply for credit cards, get a credit line from a company and order online, get PIN numbers from your bank or the DMV to change your driving record information online, and many more things.
Do the following quickly to limit the damage in case this happens:
Contact your bank and credit card companies immediately
File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen. It's
the first step toward an investigation.
Call the national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud
alert on your name and social security number. 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.
The national credit reporting organization telephone numbers are:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
Leslie Sausage is the editor of www.frugalhomemaker.com ~ Creative, practical and fun ideas for managing your home! Free e-letter which includes website updates. Send a blank email to: frugalhomemaker-subscribe@associate.com Featured in Woman's World Magazine. This article may be reprinted if the copyright, resource information and this notice are included.