JOSHUA TIME 360

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGEA corporate attorney sent the following out to theemployees in his company.1. The next time you order checks have only yourinitials (instead of first name) and last name put onthem. If someone takes your checkbook, they will notknow if you sign your checks with just your initialsor your first name, but your bank will know how yousign your checks.2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."3. When you are writing checks to pay on your creditcard accounts, DO NOT put the complete account numberon the "For" line. Instead, just put the last fournumbers. The credit card company knows the rest ofthe number, and anyone who might be handling yourcheck as it passes through all the check-processingchannels will not have access to it.4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead ofyour home phone. If you have a PO Box, use thatinstead of your home address. If you do not have a POBox, use your work address. Never have your SS#printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if itis necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyonecan get it.5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopymachine. Do both sides of each license, credit card,etc. You will know what you had in your wallet andall of the account numbers and phone numbers to calland cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Alsocarry a photocopy of your passport when travelingeither here or abroad. We have all heard horrorstories about fraud that is committed on us instealing a name, address, Social Security number,credit cards.6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards forkeys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turnthe "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the informationyou gave the hotel, including address and credit cardnumbers and expiration dates. Someone with a cardreader, or employee of the hotel, can access all thatinformation with no problem whatsoever.Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first handknowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensivemonthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA creditcard, had a credit line approved to buy a Gatewaycomputer and received a PIN number from DMV to changemy driving record information online. Here is somecritical information to limit the damage in case thishappens to you or someone you know:1. We have been told we should cancel our creditcards immediately. The key is having the toll freenumbers and your card numbers handy so you know whomto call. Keep those where you can find them.2. File a police report immediately in thejurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., werestolen. This proves to credit providers you werediligent, and this is a first step toward aninvestigation (if there ever is one). However, hereis what is perhaps most important of all (I never eventhought to do this.)3. Call the three national credit reportingorganizations immediately to place a fraud alert onyour name and Social Security number. I had neverheard of doing that until advised by a bank thatcalled to tell me an application for credit was madeover the Internet in my name. The alert means anycompany that checks your credit knows your informationwas stolen, and they have to contact you by phone toauthorize new credit. By the time I was advised to dothis, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damagehad been done. There are records of all the creditchecks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none ofwhich I knew about before placing the alert. Sincethen, no additional damage has been done, and thethieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someoneturned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead intheir tracks.Now, here are the numbers you always need to contactabout your wallet and contents being stolen:1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-62852.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-37423.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-72894.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):1-800-269-0271We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass alongjust about everything. Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass thisinformation along, it could really help someone aboutwho you care.