The following information is being circulated in cyberspace after a corporate attorney sent it along as a warning to his employees. Within a week of stealing the attorney’s wallet, the thief/thieves had ordered a monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to purchase a computer, received a PIN number from the DMV to modify his online driving record, and perpetrated other miscellaneous infractions.

Learn from this attorney’s misfortune by following the tips he offers below:

1. In the signature field on the back of your credit cards, instead of signing your name, write in: “Photo ID Required.”

2. When you write a check to pay your credit card account, provide only the last four digits of your account number. The company already has that information, and by withholding the rest of the number, you are depriving miscellaneous handlers a potential license to steal.

3. Omit your home phone number on checks, and, if possible, your home address. If you have a P.O. Box #, use that, instead. Never provide your Social Security # on your checks. There was a time when that number was never a requirement of verifying your credit, except in specific circumstances. Now, everybody and his brother have access to your personal data. Don’t make it any easier for them than you have to.

4.Make three or four copies of everything you carry in your wallet, and place them in your best hiding places. You want access not only to your credit card number, but to the toll-free phone numbers, as well, so you can cancel your credit cards immediately and lessen your financial responsibility. The idea is to have access to all of your vital information in case of loss or theft. You would also be advised to make similar copies of your passport and any other data that, should the original become missing, you would retain the information. Identity thieves will hate you for it, which is exactly what you are going for.

5. File a police report immediately after canceling your credit cards. This will demonstrate your diligence and provide a good first step in any subsequent investigation into the theft. 

6. Call the three national credit-reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert in your name. Then do the same on the Social Security fraud line number. This will alert any company checking your credit to the fact that your information was stolen and that you require them to contact you directly for any subsequent authorizations against your credit. 

Contact numbers are as follows: 

a. Equifax: 800-525-6285

b. Experian: 888-397-3742

c. Trans Union: 800-680-7289

d. Social Security Administration fraud line: 800-269-0271

Be prepared, and you will be thanking yourself well into the uncertainties of the future.