A LAWYERS ADVICE - NO CHARGE (for a change)
A corporate lawyer sent the following out to the employees in his company.
1. The next time you order cheques have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your chequebook, they will not know if you sign your cheques with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your cheques.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED".
3. When you are writing cheques to pay on your credit card accounts,
DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your cheque as it passes through all the cheque processing channels won't have access to it.
4. Put your work phone number on your cheques instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address.
Never have your Centrelink Number printed on your cheques. You can add it if it is necessary, but if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each licence, credit card, etc. 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. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when travelling either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have first-hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly mobile phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Dell computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information on-line, and more.
But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:
1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately, but the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
3. But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.
The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorise new credit.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away. This weekend someone handed it in. It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact when your wallet etc has been stolen:
Visa Card Australia 1800 621 199
Visa Card International 1800 450 346
Lost Travellers' Cheques 1800 127 477
MasterCard Australia (02) 9466 3700
MasterCard International 1800 120 113
ANZ FREECALL 1800 033 844
BankWest 131 718
Citibank 132 484
Tamworth Coles/Myer Source 2340 1300 306 397
Commonwealth 132 221
CUSCAL- MyCard 1300 135 538
GE Capital 1300 369 904
Members Equity 1300 654 998
National 132 265
St George 1800 028 208
Sydney Virgin 2000 1800 080 000
Westpac 1800 230 144
Woolworths Ezy Banking 137 288 6.
Bankcard Australia (02)9281 6633
Medicare 132 011
Centrelink Fraud 137 230
Seniors Card 1300 364 758
Passport 131 232
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2 comments:
John Powell writes-
Thanks for the good advice. I make two points.
Point 4. About the address. Finding an address is not completely impossible if you know the street, or electoral district in which a person lives. The Electoral Roll will give you the exact names and address.
Point 5. I lost my Australian passport recently when in Jordan. You should always carry a photocopy of your passport for sure, as the Lawyer points out, but you also need two supporting documents to avoid problems. I suggest a photocopy of your Citizenship Certificate, or if an Aussie by birth, then your birth certificate. Your driving licence also helps. Spare passport photos is a precaution but it is unlikely they will be accepted as the overseas passport clerk (ooop! Sorry, 'officer'.) will say they are the wrong size and will send you out for new ones from his mate, who runs a photography shop. (I ain't kidding.' Happened in Amman and again in Athens. Athens passport clerk would not accept the new photos which were accepted by the Amman clerk for my emergency passport)
The Australian Consul (usually in the Embassy) issues an emergency passport for six months. This enables you to continue your travel. Note; in Islamic countries, the Australian Embassy closes on Friday, then also, very probably, Saturday and Sunday, which causes ulcers if you have a plane to catch.
Beware. When time to go home and, if you go through Singapore, they require a passport of a transit passenger to be valid for at least six months. By the time you have completed your tour and are returning home, your emergency passport will not be valid for the next six months when you arrive in Singapore and you will meet trouble.
It takes the Australian consul ten days to issue you with a brand new passport (as opposed to an emergency one). All such applications for a new permanent passport now have to be sent to London for issue, for Security as they put in it a micro-chip to avoid forgery.
I was lucky; I flew from Jordan to Athens on my emergency passport and since I was staying with my daughter for a number of weeks, we applied at once to the Athens Australian Embassy for a permanent passport and it arrived in ten days. Australia has been blessed with my return.
Incidentally, very often it seems that the passport clerk overseas is not an Australian, but of course, they speak good English.
Hope this adds to the information. The moral of the story is--don't lose your passport!
I leave it to you to pass this on to others if you think fit.
cheers
John
Poppy Fogarty writes-
The article 'Seriously good advice'
was wonderful giving very useful advice .
Two years ago, we were in the metro in Paris, and a conversation was
struck up with a woman - about our age, who said she was from Boston.
When the train arrived, we all got into a very full carriage, so we were
all close together. As the train moved out of the station, the woman
began to be distressed, saying she had got onto the wrong train, and
with that, at the next stop, just a few minutes away, she got out.
We continued on our journey and at our destination, were going to have a coffee. My husband put his hand in his pants pocket, and nearly had a fit - his wallet had been stolen.
He was carrying 1000 euros, and both our credit cards...Happily I had the passports in my handbag.
Fortunately we were able to call my cousin in Paris, who, from work
immediately contacted Visa - in America, and eventually after lots of phone calls back and forth, the cards were cancelled.
We never got the cash back, and they used the credit card to the tune of 60 euros, which was refunded by the bank.
The moral of the story is:- keep your credit cards separate, your
passports separate, don't take too much cash, and beware of nice women
striking up conversations !!!
The timely advice is excellent, and we will make sure we do all that is necessary when we next travel.
Again, Thanks.
--
Poppy Fogarty
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