Identity Fraud

[tofayel]

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[Spring Waters]

One way to help prevent ID theft and lessen junk mail advertising and unsolicited sales calls, is to freeze your credit report.
The big three credit reporting bureaus have links at their respective sites where one can freeze their credit report for free or for a nominal one time fee, which I think only applies to one of the three credit reporting bureaus.

Equifax
Transunion
Experian

The best route to take to secure your ID.
Also, at this time of year especially, when handing over your credit card to pay for purchases make sure you put your thumb over the numbers. Anyone standing behind you and with their cell out can easily snap the picture of your card face and have your name, numbers, expiration date visible to them. And they can then call and obtain copies of your cards for themselves.

Another way to protect yourself is instead of signing your name to your credit card or debit card, put in that signature space; "Ask for my picture ID". So that the merchant see's that and then complies. If they don't look on the back, tell them to!
We have shops here that have automatic debit/cc machines installed at the register that allow shoppers to check themselves out using their credit card or debit card after their purchase is totaled. Often times the readout on the machine will begin by asking the shopper, after they've selected "Debit Card" for their means of purchase; "Do you know your PIN?"
A thief who does not can hit the "NO" button and the machine will treat that debit card as a credit card and let it go through with no problem.

Calling your credit card company, and your bank that issues the Debit card, and asking them if they can put some kind of marker on your account that prohibits that type transaction and instead insists a cashier complete the sale and asks for ID, is a great way to avoid that risk.

Another way to insure someone can't screen capture those credit card/debit card numbers via their cell phone and contact your provider and get copies of your cards is to call your credit card companies and bank and put a password on your account. This way someone would have to know that before they can pursue any further actions.
I do this even for my phone service and utilities. Because phone companies are slamming customers who subscribe to their competition and transferring their phone accounts without those customers being any the wiser after a slam call that leads that customer to believe they are being contacted by their phone company. A password on the phone account and asking your phone company to put a "Freeze" on your account that does not allow any changes without that password and your permission for the change, saves headaches.
It took me two years to battle my first experience along those lines. It's experience that's now sharing that advice.

Same with utilities companies. There are competitors coming out now that are trying the same tactics to switch power companies on customers.
Protect yourselves. ID fraud is a multibillion dollar business. That makes cranks rich and you very very upset, poor, and disappointed for not listening to sage advice.