Protecting YOUR Personal Security

At Relyco, we go to great lengths to educate our clients about how to protect their businesses against document fraud in the workplace.  But what about protecting yourself against personal fraud and identity theft?

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. The average victim spends about 600 hours and $1,400 in out of pocket expenses repairing the damage.¹  With that in mind, here are just a few personal security tips that, if followed, could save you a huge headache, or even worse:

1. The next time you order checks, instead of your full first and last name, have just your first initial and last name printed on them.  If someone steals your checkbook, they will not know how you sign your name – with just the initials or with a full first name, and if a full first name, what name? – but your bank will know exactly how your checks are normally signed.
    

2. When writing a check to pay a credit card bill, never put the complete account number on the check.  Instead write only the last four numbers.  The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might handle your check as it passes through all of the processing channels won’t have access to it.
    

3. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone.  If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address, or use your work address.  Using your personal phone number and/or address makes it much easier for a thief to piece together your personal information using only basic tools like the telephone book and various online directories.
    

4. NEVER have your Social Security Number printed on your checks.  In the wrong hands, your Social Security Number can be the key to stealing your identity.
    

5. Photocopy the contents of your wallet, and keep it in a safe place.  Photocopy both sides of each license, credit card, insurance card, etc.  This way, if your wallet is stolen you won’t have to rack your brain trying to remember what was in it, and more importantly, you’ll have relatively easy access to all of the account numbers and the customer service numbers needed to call and report lost or stolen cards and have new ones issued.
    

6. Watch what you throw away and where you throw it.

   1. When you throw away expired credit cards, be sure to cut them up first.  Usually all that changes from one card to the next is your expiration date, so an old card is nearly as valuable to a thief as a new one.

   2. Be careful throwing away receipts, paid bills and invoices, and even junk mail, which often contains valuable information about your identity.  Always tear up such items before disposal, and if possible, use a shredder.

   3. Beware of public trash receptacles.  Don’t throw retail store, restaurant or gas station receipts away in a public waste basket without first checking to make sure that there is no sensitive information printed on them.  A surprising number of receipts bear complete credit card numbers, which are pure gold in the hands of a thief.
       

7. Vary your Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).  While it certainly seems convenient to use the same PIN all the time, if all of your banking and credit card PINs are exactly the same, one mistake gives a thief access to all of your accounts. 
    

8. If you travel, keep a photocopy of your passport with you, and also keep one emergency credit card separate from the rest of your cards.

If your wallet is ever lost or stolen:

1. Act quickly.  Call your credit card companies immediately to report them lost or stolen.  In order to do this, make sure that you have photocopied your wallet as described above, and keep the photocopies in a safe place where you can find them quickly.  ID thieves usually work VERY quickly, and can do incredible damage in just a matter of minutes, using your information to apply for new credit cards, order products online, copy signatures, empty bank accounts, etc.  Acting immediately is critical to avoiding this from happening.
    

2. Immediately file a police report wherever your credit cards, wallet or passport were stolen.  This proves to credit providers that you were diligent in reporting the theft.
    

3. Immediately call the three national credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your name, and the Social Security Administration to do the same for your Social Security Number.  The alert means that any company that checks your credit will know that your information was stolen, and they will then have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.  This is probably the most important step that you can take, as it significantly hampers the thieves’ ability to successfully utilize your credit cards and other information.

Here are the numbers referenced above:

1) Equifax:  1-800-525-6285     www.equifax.com
2) Experian:  1-888-397-3742      www.experian.com
3) TransUnion:  1-800-680-7289      www.transunion.com
4) Social Security Administration:   1-800-269-0271    www.ssa.gov

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