Lost Your Purse or Wallet – or More?

INTRODUCTION

A lost or stolen purse or wallet is a gold mine of information for a crook.  Identity thieves may use information found in your purse or wallet – credit cards, checks, your Social Security card, even health insurance cards – to establish new accounts in your name.  Identity theft can take months to detect and even longer to unravel.

This Financial Awareness Bulletin will review the steps to take if your purse or wallet is lost or stolen.

FIVE IMPORTANT STEPS

If your personal information has been lost or stolen (or you become a victim of identity theft), take the following five steps right away.  Remember to follow up all calls in writing.  Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when.  Be sure to keep copies for your files.

1.   Contact your bank and credit/charge card companies.

Report the loss to your bank if your purse or wallet contained bank account information, including account numbers, ATM cards or checks.  Cancel checking and savings accounts and open new ones.  If you discover that a fraudulent bank account was opened in your name at a different bank, sit down with the bank manager to discuss the situation and request cancellation of any outstanding charges or checks.  

If you are closing existing credit/charge card accounts and opening new ones, create new Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and passwords.  Ask the company about forms for disputing those fraudulent transactions.  If your ATM card has been stolen or otherwise compromised, cancel the card immediately and obtain a new card with a new PIN.

For new unauthorized accounts, ask if the credit card company accepts the ID Theft Affidavit (available at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf).  If they do not, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms.  For your existing accounts, ask the representative to send you the company's fraud dispute forms.

2.   Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus.

Equifax - To report fraud, call: 1-800-525-6285, and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian - To report fraud, call: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742), and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion - To report fraud, call: 1-800-680-7289, and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Tell them you're a victim of identity theft, and ask them to place a "fraud alert" on your file, as well as a "victim statement" (discussed below).  The alert signals creditors to call you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts and helps prevent an identity thief from opening additional accounts in your name.  Also order copies of your credit reports; credit bureaus must provide a free copy of your report if it's inaccurate due to fraud and you make the request in writing.

Check your credit reports carefully to make sure the information is accurate.  Look for inquiries you didn't initiate, accounts you didn't open and unexplained charges on your existing accounts.  You also should check that information such as your SSN, address(es), name or initial, and employers are correct. Inaccuracies also may be due to typographical errors.  Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are due to fraud or error, notify the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone and in writing.  In a few months, order new copies of your reports – both to verify your corrections and changes and to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.

"Fraud alerts" and "victim statements" are primarily voluntary services of the credit bureaus.  Creditors do not have to consider them when granting credit.  That's one more reason to check your credit reports regularly.  In addition, fraud alerts and victim statements expire; you need to renew them periodically.  Ask each credit bureau about its policy.

3.   Report your missing driver's license to the department of motor vehicles.  If your state uses your Social Security number as your driver's license number, ask to substitute another number.

4.   File a report with your local police and the police in the location where the identity theft took place.

Keep copies of the reports, as you may need them to validate your claims to creditors. If you can't obtain copies, at least get the report numbers.

5.   File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft to file a complaint instantly, obtain a copy of the ID Theft Affidavit and get answers to frequently asked questions about identity theft.  If you don't have access to the Internet, call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free, at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).  Your complaint will be entered into a secure consumer fraud database, accessible only to law enforcement agencies, for use in pursuing criminal investigations.

FRAUD ALERTS/VICTIM STATEMENTS

Fraud alerts let creditors know that fraud has been associated with your credit report.  As a result, creditors may confirm that they're dealing with you and not an imposter before granting credit or other services.

Victim statements tell creditors to contact you before granting credit or other services.  Victim statements may cause delays in getting credit while the creditor tries to contact you.  If you have a cell phone, you may want to include that number in your statement.

The following charts describe the current fraud alert and victim statement placement procedures of the three credit bureaus.  Please note that TransUnion and Equifax use a combined fraud alert and victim statement.  Be sure to confirm these procedures when you contact the credit bureaus as procedures may change periodically.

Initial Alert:

Renewals:

Fraud alerts and victim statements generally seem to be effective.  However, because credit grantors do not have to consider them when extending credit, you should continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially in your first year of discovery, to make sure no new fraudulent activity is taking place.

STOP IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS

Of course the less personal information contained in your purse or wallet, the fewer problems will occur if the information falls into the wrong hands.  Here are some tips to help you in the future:

1.      Do not carry your checkbook (or checks) unless you specifically need them for purchasing items.  And most importantly, do not pre-sign your checks or write your Social Security number on them.

2.      Photocopy all of the contents of your purse or wallet – include the backs of the credit/charge cards.  Keep the information in a home safe.

3.      Develop a list of all bank and credit card company customer service phone numbers and email addresses.

4.      Do not carry your Social Security card in your purse or wallet.

NEA CREDIT CARD HOLDERS

NEA members who carry any of the NEA Credit Cards can contact MBNA 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week to report loss or theft of their credit card.