Thread: How much of this is good advice?

Received the following. Some of it is obviously good advice, but some I haven't tried. What do you think?

Australian Lawyer's Advice - Worth reading

A corporate LAWYER sent the following out to the employees in his company:

1. Next time you order cheques, have only your initials (instead of yourfirst name) and surname put on them. If someone takes your cheque book, theywill 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 IDREQUIRED".

3. When you are writing cheques to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOTput the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put thelast four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, andanyone who might be handling your cheque as it passes through all the chequeprocessing channels won't have access to it.

4. Place 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 nothave a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your Centrelink Numberprinted on your cheques. You can add it if it is necessary, but if you haveit printed, anyone can get it.

5. Run the contents of your wallet through a photocopy machine. Do bothsides of each licence, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in yourwallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.
Keep the photocopy in a safe place (not your wallet). I also carry aphotocopy of my passport when travelling either here or abroad. We've allheard 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 walletwas stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensiventhly 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 tochange my driving record information on-line, and more.

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

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately, but thekey 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 creditcards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you werediligent,and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever isone).

3. But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thoughto do this.)

Call the three national credit reporting organisations immediately to placea fraud alert on your Tax File Number your passport number and driver'slicence 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 myname. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows yourinformation was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorisenew credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after thetheft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the creditchecks 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. Itseems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are some numbers which you might need to contact if your walletetc 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
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


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
SydneyVirgin 2000 1800 080 000
Westpac 1800 230 144
Woolworths Ezy Banking 137 288

We pass on jokes & just about everything,
But if you pass this information on, it could really help someone

In regards to point number five you are better off to scan all those details and then send an email to yourself. I got that tip from an article in Land Rover World from someone travelling overland in eastern Europe and then through onto Africa.

Rob W