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Items on this page were researched by Bill Sanders (aka LYAO Editor or "-LE")
Each item in question is in a white box and listed first, followed by it's status, links to my sources (where I determined the fact was right, wrong, etc.), and any comments I might have on the subject in a light yellow box. ;-)
Any short notes written by me on quoted material are in square brackets ("[" and "]"]
NOTE: This page Under Construction/Conversion
This page has not been completely converted to OFPv2 Standards.
When this is completed, this paragraph will go away.
Meanwhile, all external links on this page open a new window.
AKA: No known akas
SPECIAL NOTES:
As with many other emails that have been widely circulated, this one has "been through the mill". While the "gist" of it remains... "Be Careful"... Advice has been added and edited, some good, some not-so-good.
I will designate added "advice" (most bad, btw) by changing the color from green to blue.
Even the original advice has been edited, reordered, and numbered (not by me!) Check the links and my notes.
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.
1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.
Status: MOSTLY WRONG
Source(s):
- [Snopes article - see below]
Comment(s):
MANY people have had unsigned checks go through the bank as if they were signed. Many of us have had other family members sign checks for us to cash them. The banks have so many people going through, unless they are extremely small banks (fewer and fewer of them around!) no one there will "know how you sign your checks." AND, even if they did, most people's signatures are different (at least slightly) every time they write them. Besides, with automation doing much of the validation on checks, now, unless the banks start specifically looking at the signature area of a check, it really doesn't matter what's there.
2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."
Status: WRONG
Source(s):
Comment(s):
This point was not in the Snopes' versions. The source site notes that this is just plain wrong. SOME merchants and CC companies REQUIRE your signature. [If you put something else there, they MAY not take it. -LE]
3. When you are writing checks 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 check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.
Status: NOT NECESSARILY
Source(s):
- [Snopes article - see below]
Comment(s):
Snopes' suggestion: Don't put ANYTHING...
"The preprinted slip the credit card holder returns along with his payment is all the credit card issuer needs to ensure payment is allocated against the correct account. "
[Also, even if the check and the return slip get separated, they can still credit your account correctly, using your name and address to find your account. -LE]
4. Put your work phone # on your checks 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 SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.
Status: NOT NECESSARILY
Source(s):
- [Snopes article - see below]
Comment(s):
Snopes' suggestion: If you have one, the PO Box idea is good. The phone # and SS# can be written when they're needed. No need to PRINT a phone # on the check.
[Be careful about using your work phone number and address. With layoffs, company closings and changes, they can quickly become obsolete or invalid, forcing you to get new checks. Also, many people work in counties in which they don't live. Some merchants will only take checks written on local banks. -LE]
5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, 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.
Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad.
We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.
Status: RIGHT
Source(s):
- [Snopes article - see below]
Comment(s):
The original advice was good.
[I would also say the added extra copy of your passport would be a good idea, too, but DON'T keep it in your wallet or passport! Have it put in the hotel safe (or somewhere else safe) with other valuables. It might also be a good idea to put it in an unmarked sealed envelope until you NEED it. (Common sense?) -LE]
6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.
Status: WRONG
Source(s):
Comment(s):
THIS is just an added false urban legend - see the source page for more information. (This is not the same source as the entire email source.)
NOTE: There HAVE BEEN cases where the information mentioned is encoded, but this implies that the practice is routine, which it's not. It IS correct that you can and probably SHOULD take card-keys with you to keep or destroy. Don't give them to someone else to do.
Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is 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. 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).
However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)
3. 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 authorize 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 turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.
Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:
- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
- Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
- Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.
Nevertheless, if you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone about who you care.
Status: RIGHT
Source(s):
Comment(s):
Most of the last section (most of the original email) is "Useful (and Good) Advice" ...
- The Snopes' "Full Faith ... " source covers most of this email.
- The Business of Life source was used in refuting the added "Do not sign the back of your credit cards." advice.
- The Snopes' "Card Sharks" source covers the card-keys section.
Much of the original email (green in the white boxes, above) was circulated starting in January, 2002, and collected by Snopes. Later in the year (around September), someone added many of the first-listed (in this version) bits of advice, and began circulating it. In the ensuing four (4) years (this page was originally written in February, 2006), it appears to have changed even more with a bit more (mostly bad) advice added. And, as was noted at the beginning of this page, the whole email, even the original part, has been edited, numbered, and somewhat re-arranged.
In searching for information about this email, I also found it on over 1000 sites, each of which have some version of it. As is normal, the majority of them are duplicates, and most haven't checked to see what's good advice and what's not.
Be careful with FREE ADVICE... Sometimes you will get what you pay for!
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