Keeping your identity safe. (American Express)

Name: T0BY

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Product:	American Express
Date:	06/02/04 (890 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Many

Disadvantages: Non

We are on the threshold of becoming a fully joined up (eWorld) electronic World. Everyone is now aware of the Internet. There are almost as many mobile telephones in circulation as there are people in our country. We use credit cards for many of our day to day transactions. We are starting to become something of a cashless society trading in plastic. Our driving licences are being converted from paper to credit card style with electronic memory where significant amounts of personal data can be stored. We use store cards that track our purchasing trends, we have applications on our computers that report back of our surfing habits and our mobile phones transmit a contact signal back to the nearest cell which can be used to track our movements.

Most of us are unaware of what kind of monitoring of our private lives actually goes on. Credit was once something we avoided if at all possible, yet today a good credit reference is of more personal value today than a clean criminal record. Every day we go out to work to make a decent living wage to support ourselves and our dependants. Everyday we use credit cards to make purchases and many of us are like the queen and have little or no actual money in our pockets. In the hectic lives that we lead we give little more than a quick glance at our bank or credit card statements. However, this could be a very costly mistake to make, because when things go wrong this is often the first indicator that something is amiss.

? Don?t carry your pin with the card.
? Check your statements each month for any unexplained transactions.
? Always sign your cards when they arrive.
? Keep a record of each card with contact numbers and important information.
? Save receipts to check against statements.
? Don?t lend anyone your card.
? Don?t leave your card lying around.
? Destroy old credit cards completely.


[If you suspect that something is wrong, check with the bank or credit car
d company as soon as possible, if you are in any doubt ask to cancel the cards.]

Have you ever had a meal in a restaurant where you have paid the bill with a credit card and then forgotten to ask for your copy of the receipt? Did you know that it has been known for two receipts to be swiped through the machine from a credit card. Did you know that these receipts will have your credit card number printed right there for anyone to see and you will have signed them, so your signature is also there for someone to copy. You will not know about it until you get your statement and then only if you remember to check!

[Always ensure that all credit card transactions take place in front of you, never pass your card to the waiter.]

Can you prevent this from happening? Probably not but there are very sensible, simple steps you can take to give yourself some protection.

[Remember you are responsible for any transactions made on your credit cards, if your credit details are misused the burden of proof that something is fraudulent will be on you.]

Often we forget that items left lying around can tell someone else who picks them up a great deal about us. Bank, utility or credit card statements carelessly thrown in a bin contain our name, address and account details. There is often a list of recent transactions we have made so someone could also know something of our spending habits. Often there is sufficient information contained in this kind of statement to give someone a starting point to steal our electronic or credit identity. It is possible that someone could apply for a credit card in your name if they have the right information. You won't know a thing about it until the credit card company eventually tracks you down and demands payment for the purchases "you" have made. You need to be aware of ways how you can stop others getting access to your personal identification information.

[Never throw statements i
n the bin, tear them up or better still burn them.]

People sometimes find that there are unknown transactions appearing on bank or credit card statements where amounts of money have been deducted for purchases they have not made. Clearing the problem up with the bank or removing it off of your credit history will be very difficult. You will left with the time-consuming task of repairing your credit and getting your finances back on track. Often it can take a long time to get the money credited back into your account and during that period you could be running up overdraft charges. Has your bank or credit card company written to say that as you are such a good customer, your limit has been increased even though you never asked for the increase. Remember, if someone uses your card details fraudulently, they can go up to the limit set on your card.

[Do you have a large overdraft cash limit on your card, do you actually need it, if not ask for the limit to be reduced to a more practical level.]

What can we do to protect our good name and what exactly is Identity Theft? Identity theft involves any instance when another person claims to be or uses someone else's identification documents or other methods in order to impersonate that person for whatever reason. Identity theft could be used to commit a bank fraud, enter another country, credit card fraud, electronic transactions fraud, mail fraud, and much more.

Credit card fraud is identity theft, and is almost simple to do if you allow it. For instance do you get the junk mail credit card offers through the post? I bet you throw them in the bin as unwanted rubbish. All a person has to do is get these out of your dustbin and send them back with a covering letter about a change of address. Have you just thrown away your latest credit card statement or utility bill? Just take a look next time at some of the factual information contained on that statement. (Your bank account number,
full name, address, employers details and employee number, utility bill account numbers and much more) Now, think about the types of information you have to provide in order to get a credit card or a bank loan and most of that information can be found in your dustbin.

Protecting yourself takes some effort. Never assume it's not going to happen to you! Do what you can to make it more difficult for them to get your information. There are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself. Always destroy any unwanted credit card offers. Destroy any sensitive documents before you throw them into the bin. Only carry or own as many credit cards as are absolutely necessary. Check carefully your monthly credit card statement. Never ever give out personal information on the phone. Remember that companies will collect more information than they really need, do you know what their protection policies are? Do you allow them to share your credit information with other businesses? If you don't know, check with them today. Ask for a copy of and read their privacy policy.

So what should you do if it happens to you? The first thing to do is report the crime to the police and request a crime number. Credit card companies and banks will ask you for it. You must contact your credit card company as soon as possible and close all your existing accounts. At the same time you can request replacement cards with new account numbers. Follow up with letters to the credit card companies with your request in writing. Remember to close any other accounts the thief has opened in your name. Your credit card company will ask you to set a password, often they will ask for your mother's maiden name, never use that as it is contained on your birth certificate. Copy birth certificates are very easy to obtain.

If you need to set a password, then choose a simple easy to remember two word or double word pair. Like for instance "trouser-leg" which is harder
to guess. For additional security look-a-like letters and numbers could be swapped over. The password could then be converted to tr0u5er-1eg where the O is changed to a zero and the S is changed to a five and the L is changed to a one. Other word pairs could be apple-pie, zig-zag, ping-pong or hop-scotch. Choose your own that you will remember. Just remember not to write it down in your diary! If you loose your card or its been stolen then your card will normally have a free phone 24 hour number to call and report the missing card.
Do write this number in your diary as you will not have your card available. Often credit card companies state that once you report the loss you have no further liability.


Toby.

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