Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Good Advice From An Attorney

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 07-27-2003, 01:17 PM:

It could same you some troubles:

An Attorney's Advice

Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it some day. Maybe we should all take some of his advice!

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them.

If someone takes your check book they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

When you are writing checks 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 check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks (DUH!) you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both
sides of each license, 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 I travel 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, etc.

Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within! a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

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 easily.

File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was
stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important: (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
authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, 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 turned it in.) It seems to have stopped them in their tracks.

The numbers are:

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 07-27-2003, 01:31 PM:

Snopes lists this as correct , but there are two things that are not 'exactly' true in the message:

"But some of the advice is only half right- rather than providing a work number in place of a home telephone number, we have to ask why either needs to be included. If a merchant requires a phone number, the information can always written on the face of the check at the time of the transaction. Likewise, rather than including only the last four digits of a credit card number in the memo field of the check, a better course of action is to leave that line blank. The preprinted slip the credit card holder returns along with his payment is all the credit card issuer needs to ensure payment is allocated against the correct account."

"And one bit of the proffered advice is just plain wrong- listing initials in place of the account holder's first name in the vague hope the issuing bank will spot an improperly signed check is right up there with wishing bread was 39¢ a loaf. We've seen checks we'd forgotten to sign go through our accounts. If a bank fails to question blank signature lines, it's not up to the task of scrutinizing each signature to see if it matches what it remembers of how that account holder signs his name."

-Aaron

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 07-27-2003, 02:25 PM:

I figure some of it is somebody's opinion, but with input like Aaron's (and hopefully others) we can come up with something that is 100% correct. [Wink]

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-27-2003, 02:57 PM:

Paul,

In Maryland, your signature is on your Driver's License so the theives have your signature.

I'm not too worried about my checkbook...it is my computer and I don't even have wallet checks...So the would be theives need to break into my house and get by the two dogs on their way to the checks.

The advice you listed is good...Thanks.

Steve

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-27-2003, 05:17 PM:

I believe I heard that it's better to spell out all names as much as you can.

For instance, if you're writing a check to pay your income taxes and you make it out to "I.R.S." a thief can change it to "I.R.Smith" (etc.) and deposit into a fake bank account set up just for the purpose. If you write "Internal Revenue Service" instead, it's not so easy to change.

At least, this applies when writing out checks. I would still apply it to most situations, though. The more characters/information given to identify the exact entity to whom you are addressing the harder it is to fake. Just like the way longer passwords are more secure than short ones.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 07-28-2003, 09:47 AM:

Checks are cleared by computers. In fact, signitures are no longer required (by a change in Federal Law) to allow for electronic checks. Nobody looks at the signiture. What is supposed to happen is this; if you complain to your bank the a fraudulent check paid, they are supposed to reverse the transaction. The problem is that most banks require you to prove the transaction is fraudulent, something that is not always easy to do.

/Mitchell

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 07-28-2003, 09:48 AM:

Your signature is also on the Massachusetts and Wisconsin drivers license.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 07-28-2003, 01:07 PM:

Florida too. Although I had a problem cashing a check at the bank because my signature on my DL was back when I was 16, and has changed somewhat. I had to fish for two other IDs (student ID and and employee badge) which had more current signatures on them.

So yeah, banks look at signatures.
=TMP=

Posted by Matt Hale (Member # 1518) on 07-28-2003, 02:23 PM:

Back when I used to buy cheques from my bank I always insisted that they leave my name off. The problem was that nobody would take a cheque from me unless it had my full name and address pre-printed on it. When I pointed out to them that having a name printed on the cheque merely tells a thief what name to sign, all I got was "Huh? What? Does not compute..."

These days I print my own cheques individually, so I can put as much or as little information on them as the merchant requires.

[ 07-28-2003, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Matt Hale ]

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 07-28-2003, 04:14 PM:

I haven't written a personal check in over a year, so this isn't a problem at all. It's just about gotten to the point where you can do most of your personal transactions by plastic, either debit or credit... and most everyone can get at least one, if not both.

Any credit card account worth having can be paid online without additional charges. Once you put your checking account on record with the card company, it takes about 30 seconds to pay your bill.

Many products, cars, internet accounts, etc. can be authorized to take their payment automatically.