Dealing with Identity Theft
What do you do when you discover your credit card is missing? Or when you still have your debit card in your wallet, but someone else has used its number to make purchases? If you’ve never experienced identity theft, feel fortunate, because The Federal Trade Commission reports that one of every six people in the U.S. falls victim to this serious crime each year. Out-of-pocket expenses may be negligible, because you usually don’t have to pay for charges you didn’t make. But the average number of hours spent resolving problems created by each theft? A whopping 175.
Not only can identity thieves withdraw cash from your bank accounts and charge goods to your credit cards, they can ruin your credit and your good name by using your information to rent cars, take out loans, and involve you in criminal activities you’ve never dreamed of.
Common Ploys
Sgt. John McAnally of the Naperville Police Department has spent 12 years investigating and solving identity thefts, and he says one favorite method of credit card crooks is to steal a card from a woman’s purse while she is dining with a man. “The woman has her purse on her chair, and the man usually pays for dinner,” McAnally explains, “so no one knows the card is missing until they get home or later.”
The second most common type of ID theft McAnally sees: stealing mail, particularly from curb-side mailboxes. Thieves drive through neighborhoods looking for raised flags on mailboxes, and take outgoing mail addressed to banks or credit card companies. Says McAnally, “They’ll also steal your incoming mail, because they may have a 5- to 6-hour window before you come home.”
Another growing form of ID theft: skimming. Skimming occurs when a business employee takes your card to ring up a sale, but first swipes it through a small device that captures the card’s data. McAnally says skimming is done most often at service stations and restaurants, and happens quickly when the employee passes your card through a skimmer beneath the counter before swiping it at the cash register. Still other types of identity theft include using the identity of a deceased person for financial gain and stealing the identity of a newborn or child.
Steps to Take
What should you do when identity theft strikes you? Call the police immediately. And if credit is being opened in your name, notify one of the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union). Recent federal legislation says that if you call one bureau, that firm is responsible for notifying the other two.
Also call us here at Auto and Home Insurance. We’re here for you, and we can help determine if you have coverage. Many credit-card companies offer protection against this crime, and several insurance companies now offer identity theft assistance as part of their standard coverage on homes, automobiles, condominiums and rental property. So please call us anytime you believe your information has been stolen. We can help guide you through the process of reclaiming two of your most valuable possessions: your identity, and your good name.
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