Your Wallet is Stolen!!!! No Joke

[Guest guest]

Subject: Your Wallet is Stolen!!!! No Joke

Looks like a good piece of information --

especially the phone numbers!!

We've all heard horror stories about fraud

that's committed using your

name, address, SS#, credit, etc.

Unfortunately a friend of mine has first

hand knowledge, because her wallet was

stolen last month and within a week

the thieve(s) ordered her 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 her 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. As

everyone always advises, cancel your

credit cards immediately, but the key is

having the toll free numbers and

your card numbers handy so you know who to

call. Keep those where you can

find them easily (having to hunt for them

is additional stress you WON'T need at that point!).

File a police report immediately in the

jurisdiction where it was stolen,

this proves to credit providers you were

diligent, and is a first step

toward an investigation (if there ever is

one).

But here's what is perhaps most important

(I never ever thought to do this): Call the three national credit

reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and

SS#. She had never heard of doing

that until advised by a bank that called to tell her an application for

credit was made over the Internet in her 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 she was advised to do this -almost 2 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 she knew about before

placing the alert). Since then, no new damage has been done, and the

thieves threw her wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in).

It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.

The numbers are:

>

> Equifax 1-800 525-6285; 1-;

1-

> Experian (formerly TRW) 1-;

1-

> Trans Union 1-

> Social Security Administration has a fraud

line at 1-

> Federal Trade Commission 1-

>

> We pass along jokes, we pass along just

about everything....do think about

>

> passing this information along .... it

could help someone else.

>

> One more thing I'd add to the list is NOT

to carry your SS# in your wallet.