All members should read this and print it out

[Matt. K]

Interesting info, you never know when this could happen to you.


If your credit card is stolen, or your whole wallet

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE (for a change)

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

1. The next time you order cheques have only your initials (instead of
first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your chequebook,
they will not know if you sign your cheques with just your initials or
your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your cheques.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID
REQUIRED".

3. When you are writing cheques 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 cheque as it passes through
all the cheque processing channels won't have access to it.

4. Put your work phone number on your cheques instead of your home phone.
If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do
not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your Centrelink
Number printed on your cheques. You can add it if it is necessary, but
if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides
of each licence, 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 travelling 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.

Unfortunately I, an attorney, have first-hand knowledge because my wallet
was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive
monthly mobile phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a
credit line approved to buy a Dell computer, received a PIN number from
DMV to change my driving record information on-line, and more.

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

1. 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.

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

3. But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (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 authorise 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 handed it in. It
seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact when your wallet etc
has been stolen:

1. Visa Card Australia 1800 621 199
2. Visa Card International 1800 450 346
3. Lost Travellers' Cheques 1800 127 477
4. MasterCard Australia (02) 9466 3700
5. MasterCard International 1800 120 113
ANZ FREECALL 1800 033 844
BankWest 131 718
Citibank 132 484
Tamworth Coles/Myer Source 2340 1300 306 397
Commonwealth 132 221
CUSCAL- MyCard 1300 135 538
GE Capital 1300 369 904
Members Equity 1300 654 998
National 132 265
St George 1800 028 208
Sydney Virgin 2000 1800 080 000
Westpac 1800 230 144
Woolworths Ezy Banking 137 288
6. Bankcard Australia (02) 9281 6633
7. Medicare 132 011
8. Centrelink Fraud 137 230
9. Seniors Card 1300 364 758
10. Passport 131 232

[birddog114]

Thanks Matt.
Great stuff, and very handy when needed.

[Geoff]

Thanx Matt - I can use Dad's scanner and 'copy' all my cards

[Manta]

Excellent advice Matt. Thank you for posting it. The "Photo ID Required" is great - except for the fact that very few retailers and/or their young pimple-faced assistants even bother to look at the signature panel anyway. Wouldn't matter what was written there in most instances. There was an article in the news not long ago with photocopies of some of the signatures on the back of credit cards that had been used successfuly for ages: "Porky Pig" and "I Stole This" were two "signatures" I remember from that article!

[rokkstar]

There was a petrol station where I used to live, in a particularly unpleasant place called Luton, and everytime I got fuel the guy handed my card back to me before I signed the receipt.
SO after that I used to sign my name as "Donald DUck", "Dracula", and on some occasions just scribbled no discernable letters.
Not once did he ever question it.

So I agree with everything you've said Matt, but agree with Manta that not many people check the signature.

[leek]

Lots of good advice Matt, but I'd love to know where it comes from... It has a distinctly American flavor (jurisdiction / attorney etc.), but has clearly been adapted for Australia with the telephone numbers etc...

Apart from the signature thing that others have mentioned, I would also take issue with the caution applied to disclosing your full credit card number... I come across many people that are unwilling to use the internet for payment in case their credit card number is stolen... I then point out that the full number and the expiry date is printed on each and every credit card slip... Anyone in any location where you pay with your credit card could have access to these slips...

[Glen]

Matt, great advice and here is the number for number 3, the big one:

Baycorp Advantage 13 3124

or their associated website http://www.mycreditfile.com.au

for about $20 they can put a watch on a company or your own file, letting you know when anyone makes an enquiry on your file. Perfect for this situation.



ps Matt, I printed this out in A3+ on my new R1800, and it looks crap, not half as good as some photos I have. Can you photoshop it for me?

[MCWB]

Perhaps you could get mic to invert it for you for an 'out there' look Glen?

Thanks for the list Matt, very helpful! Will file that one away, hopefully I never have to use it.