Identity theft and check fraud

[giza]

Here's some articles of interest:

Banks hang fraud victims high and dry - One reason why I think debit cards are a Really Bad Idea. Among other things, the article mentions how fraudulent charges on credit cards must be refunded in accordance with Federal Law. Debit cards are regulated under no such law.

8 signs you may know an identity thief - Chances are, you DO know someone is may have committed identity fraud.

10 ways to stop identity theft cold - Self explanatory. One thing I learned is that you should NOT carry your Social Security Card in your wallet, in case the wallet gets lost.

Don't let your ex trash your credit - Things you should know about your credit rating if you are getting divorced, or even breaking up.

Cancel a credit card -- the right way - Hows and whys of canceling credit cards.

Comments

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

I had $1200 stolen from my account through my debit card (somebody at a NYC hotel made a copy of it while it was out of my sight)

My bank took an affidavit, and i soon had the full amount refunded.

So they don't ALL screw you over. find out if your bank has a good policy on that, i guess.

[giza.livejournal.com]

The article mentioned that sometimes the complaints are fraudulent, so banks won't refund money in those instances.

The recurring theme also seemed to be "get a police report". Since it's illegal to make a false police report, I imagine that having a police report would be more convincing to a bank that you aren't just making up the story.

[kellic.livejournal.com]

Couple things. First off who was the bank? That makes a huge difference. Also was it a debit card or a Check card. I believe the latter is covered by Visa. And in my case I specifically checked to see if US Bank covered indent theft. Beyond that I don't own checks. Actually I have one book. Had to go out and buy them for Anthrocon last year when I upgraded to Super Sponsor. I never use checks and I avoid when possible case. Its simple as to why. If I don't have my wallet it means its stolen. I can then call US Bank and kill the card and the credit card all in one call. In the case of the family in the first article you've got too many cards if you don't know you lost one. There should be only two places that a credit card should be. Locked away someplace safe in your home or in your wallet\purse. Beyond that when I'm ATMing some money I ALWAYS inspect the machine. A CSI episode and actual news made me uber paranoid about fake card slots that read the magnetic strip when you swipe your card.
Then there are the other articles. All of which are pretty much no brainers if you ask me. My SSN number is memorized and the card itself is in my safty dep box at the bank.
I shred everything at work. Medical bills, credit card apps, pretty much anything other then advertisements gets dropped into the shredder once a month. I would say on a scale of 1-10 from least venerable to most I’d rate a 3-4. I could be safer but I think I’m good enough. The last article is very useful though. I’m moving my credit card over to US Bank from Citibank so everything is under one roof. This will help. I would have never thought of writing a letter on top of calling them.

[duncandahusky.livejournal.com]

I had my wallet stolen at Newark Airport and subsequently learned the joys of identity theft firsthand. Someone opened accounts at Office Depot and Circuit City in my name and ran up about $5,000 in charges (none of which I was held responsible for). What I learned was:
1. File a police report.
2. Cancel your credit cards IMMEDIATELY.
3. Notify your bank if you have a debit card.
4. Call the Big Three credit reporting agencies and place a Fraud Hold on your accounts as soon as possible.

Oh, and don't think that just because your SSN isn't in your wallet you're safe - they got mine even though I was scrupulous about not carrying it anywhere.

(These may have been outlined in the articles you linked to, but this is what worked for me.)

[nius.livejournal.com]

What most banks forget to tell you is that Debit transactions, where you manually enter your PIN, are ACH transfers and subject to all the *checking* laws instead of credit card transaction laws. And yea, like the article indicates, the rules for dealing with check fraud are a royal pain in the ass.

When you avoid the PIN, and sign for a Visa check transaction, you're protected by the same zero liability (http://usa.visa.com/personal/security/visa_security_program/zero_liability.html?it=il|/personal/cards/benefits/bft_zero_liability.html|Zero%20Liability) policy that Visa imposes on all its transactions. Of course, the fact is - it's tied directly to your checking account. They have policies to help you get back on your feet, but it'll fuck your checking account if someone decides to copy your card and go on a spending spree. At least with a credit card, you can laugh and just ignore the card while the bank takes care of it (and you're not losing cash in the meantime).

Generally, I use my Visa check card for everything. I balance my checking account *nightly*, and I conduct all my billpay electronically. Plus, I use a credit union that likes me, instead of an evil megabank. The best part of dealing with the CU is that I walk in, say "Hi, gimme money", they look at my account and see I've been there 7+ years, ka-ching - they give me money.

Just as an example of why a CU is w00t: Wachovia offered us $40k for our mortgage (an insult, I laughed at them). The state of Virginia "homes for poor people" program was offering $79k. Our CU manager was embarassed that he could only give us $95k! (we wound up borring 93k for our place)

[giza.livejournal.com]

Oh, that reminds me:

- I have the service 1-800-HOT-LINE. With one call, I can have ALL of my cards (credit and ATM) canceled.

- I have a rider for identity theft insurance on my renter's insurance. If I am the victim of ID, they'll refer me to an agency, lawyers, etc., and pay up to $25K of expenses to fix my identity. My premium for that is only $40 a year. :-)