Comments on: 40 Precautions for Preventing Identity Theft

By: Janet

Janet — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:35:48 +0000

DON’T use a safe deposit box for important papers. Once you die, it requires a court order to be able to get into the box. What if your WILL is in here?

Plus, banks will use the flimsiest of excuses to drill and remove contents.

“Don’t trust bank employees. ”Don’t allow a bank employee to keep your key and handle transactions for you if you’re not there — something elderly customers have done and regretted,” says Carol Mesheske, chief of a section in the FDIC’s Division of Supervision that monitors fraudulent activities at banks.”

By: breagha

breagha — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:25:59 +0000

Two of the best things one can do is (1) never have mail delivered at your actual residence; and (2) invest in a 10-year passport booklet as a main form of ID. There are very few instances where you are REQUIRED to show a DL. Being pulled over by the highway patrol is one of them, as is going into the DMV. But other than that, I’ve had a 99.9% success rate (yes, even at hotels) w/ simply offering my passport as my ID. If they copy it, well, then they copy it.
P.O. Boxes are so affordable. The smallest cubbies are only $21 for 6 months (currently, at least in my city). This price might be going up w/ the trouble the USPS is having in this economy, but even at doubled the price, it’s worth it for a little more peace of mind. I agree — never leave outgoing mail in your mailbox in front of your home. But why trust the opposite? Why leave it to chance that someone will not take your personal mail (possibly containing credit card offers) from right out in front of your house? This is increasingly easy if someone just waits a few days to see what time the postman comes, and what time you come home. If a homeowner can find out what time the delivery person comes, so can a thief. As for packages (yes, that is my one problem w/ using a PO box… that UPS and FedEx and DHL do not deliver to PO boxes), I also have a private mail box. You don’t need both… I just happened to have both. The private mail box is of course more expensive, but I have 24-hr access to my mail box and they accept all deliveries on my behalf.
There is a great book called “How to Be Invisible” by J.J. Luna (his website is http://www.howtobeinvisible.com/index.cfm/fa/questions) , and though the author’s main purpose is to tell people how to live “invisibly” to varying degrees, the bottom line is, according to him, that merely using a passport for your sole form of ID, and not having your mail delivered to your residence, are two of the best things you can do to help you from ID theft, and also protect you personally. I highly recommend his book, and his website.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:35:51 +0000

Mr. Judd’s comment about traveling around the country reminds me of hotels and motels. For many years many front desk staff have made it a habit of photocopying a driver’s license along with your credit card information when a guest checks in. Since they can also photocopy the backside of you credit card (with your signature) at the same time, they have everything except your SS number to reproduce your identity.

Credit card services do not allow vendors to copy or retain personal information (driver’s licenses, etc.) because they don’t want to be sued if an identify theft case gets traced back to that vendor.

The next time a front desk clerk attempts to take your license from you instead of just looking at it, tell them they can not copy it or record any information from it. If they refuse to rent you a room go elsewhere. If that is not an option, have them place a small PostIt note over the area that contains your driver’s license number and your address, only leaving your picture and name viewable. If they still refuse don’t stay there no matter what.

By: RA Judd

RA Judd — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:20:34 +0000

One of the most frustrating problems I have dealt with in the last twelve months is a new “corporate policy” from the national chain of Pilot Fuel Centers.

When a professional CDL driver goes into the fuel desk to have a pump turned on, they are asked to swipe a credit card prior to the sale. Then the attendant requires the driver to sign a blank receipt (electronically) prior to pumping fuel, even though he or she has already provided an ID number, company name and (in some instances), a “Frequent Fueler” card or retention of an actual driver’s license. All this seems to violate any agreements Pilot has with credit card services like VISA and others.

The real concern is that — having already signed — a driver could go back to his rig, pump $5.00 worth of fuel and then return to the fuel desk where they are presented with a bill for $500.00. Since they have already signed for the transaction, how can they possibly dispute the charge?

When I have tried to object to various Pilot locations across the country there have been three reactions by staff. (1) “I can’t turn on the pump unless you sign.” (NOT TRUE. At a number of stops staff simply turns on the pump any way.); (2) “We are a billion dollar company and we can do whatever we want.”; (3) In Denver, CO I was threatened with arrest if I didn’t leave the store immediately when I objected to signing in advance of purchase.

Any comments?

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:18:49 +0000

I second what Christina says. Technically, a CC is not valid if unsigned. I have seen store employees refuse to accept a CC payment if it is unsigned.

I recommend signing the card with a fine-pint ball-point and then overlaying your signature with “PLEASE SEE I.D.” with a Sharpie.

By: Hannah

Hannah — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:00:49 +0000

Thanks for such a great list.
On point#6, I doubt that an unlisted phone number will stop most telemarketers, since they often have automatic dialers which call every number sequence, whether listed or unlisted. We were getting the same calls on our cell phone (not listed) that we received on the land line. But we signed up for the national Do Not Call list, and now only receive an occasional call… none so far in 2009.

I agree that it is risky to give any information over the phone. Some of these callers even block out their phone # from call display, so you cannot tell who’s calling. We no longer do any business over the phone unless we initiate the call.

By: Tristan Phillips

Tristan Phillips — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:02:31 +0000

#20 is a violation of the Terms of Service for every credit card that I can think of. Are you telling people to violate their contract with the CC holder?

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:42:04 +0000

Change 20 from “instead of” to “in addition to”. ALWAYS sign your credit card. If a thief gets a hold of an unsigned card, even if it says “Check ID”, they can sign your name in their own handwriting and it is just one step easier for them to steal your credit. The merchant may ask for ID, but they don’t always, even when you explicitly write Check ID on the card.

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:47:02 +0000

It’s very difficult to 100% prevent theft. Unless you join lifelock, I hear they have great prevention and insurance. Do you recommend it? With so much information online and in computers these days, even if you use your CC with a credited and secure site, it’s never truly that safe unfortunately.

By: Jules @ The Francophile Files

Jules @ The Francophile Files — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:03:16 +0000

Thanks MoneyNing for the great list.

Being aware and conscious about our person information is key. And I totally second CD Rates cross-cut shredder.