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TEN WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
You can minimize the risk of being victimized by
taking the following steps:
1. Never leave your purse or wallet unattended, at
work, at restaurants, at health fitness clubs, in
your shopping cart, at church, at parties. Never
leave your purse or wallet in open view in your car,
even when locked.
2. Destroy all checks immediately when you close a
checking account. Destroy or keep in a secure place,
any courtesy checks that your bank or credit card
company may mail you. Shred all financial offers,
statements, etc.
3. Reconcile your check and credit card statements
in a timely fashion and immediately challenge any
purchases you did not make.
4. Limit the number of
credit cards you have, and cancel inactive accounts.
5 Never give any credit card, bank, or social
security or other personal information to anyone
over the telephone or on the internet.
6. Minimize exposure of your social security and
credit card numbers. If you are asked for your
social security number by a business (i.e. doctor's
office) and they already have that number on file,
refuse to write it down somewhere again.
7. Safeguard your credit and debit and ATM card
receipts and shred them before disposing of them.
(Most places of business now will print only the
last four digits of your card number, as now
required by law)
8. Scrutinize your utility and subscription bills to
make sure the charges are yours.
9. Memorize your passwords and personal
identification (PIN) numbers. Keep your PIN numbers
somewhere that only you know about, anywhere but
with your credit cards. Don’t give out your PIN.
Identity theft is often traced back to family
members. You may be held liable if the financial
institution can show negligence on your part.
10. Keep a list of, or photocopy all credit and
identification cards you carry with you, including
front and back, so that you can quickly call the
issuers to inform them about missing or stolen
cards. Keep the list or copies in safe place.
11. Regularly
request a copy of your credit report. You are
allowed one free report per year, so with three
different credit reporting agencies, you could get
one free report every four months.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM
THE PROTECTORS!
Many organizations and
companies are popping up across the country offering
Identity Theft insurance, forms, data and services
or protection for a fee. Be careful and cautious
before investing any money. Make sure you are
dealing with a reputable organization/company and
that there is value to what you are purchasing, even
when it is offered through your financial
institution or a credit agency .
IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT
In addition to the brief
information below, we highly recommend the following
site for a step by step process, including forms:
"What to do if you are a victim of Identity Theft"
1. Report the incident to the police immediately. If
you know where your identification was stolen, or
where the incident of fraud occurred, that would be
the jurisdictions you would want to report it to.
Insist you be given a complaint number. Although the
state and federal government have departments that
handle identity theft, Michigan legislation also
allows you to file a complaint in your own
jurisdiction. Keep a record of date, time and who
you communicated with, throughout your ordeal.
2. Report all stolen cards to the issuers
immediately and if desired, request new cards be
issued. Follow up with written notification.
3. Notify your bank in the event your checks were
stolen and request that your account be closed.
4. In order to prove your innocence, be prepared to
fill out affidavits of forgeries for banks, credit
grantors and recipients of stolen checks. They are
joint victims with you and may suffer a financial
loss. An
general affidavit is available through the FTC
but different agencies may still request you fill
out their form.
5. Contact the social security office if someone is
using your social security number to establish
credit or new accounts.
6. All three major credit reporting agencies in the
United States have Fraud Assistance programs, with
toll free telephone numbers. Report the theft of
your credit cards and request that your account be
flagged to all three of the following companies:
Equifax Credit Information Services, Consumer
Fraud Division, P.O. Box 740250, Atlanta, GA 30374.
Tel: (800) 525-6285 Fax (770) 612-2518
www.equifax.com
TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance, P.O. Box
6790, Fullerton, CA 92634. Tel: (800) 680-7289 Fax:
(714) 447-6034
www.tuc.com
Experian, Consumer Fraud Assistance, P.O.
Box 1017, Allen, TX 75013 Tel: (888) 397-3742, Fax:
(214) 390-3527
www.experian.com
The Free File Disclosure Rule under the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act)
becomes effective on December 1, 2004. The Rule
requires each of the three nationwide consumer
reporting companies Equifax, Experian, and
TransUnion to provide consumers with a free
copy of their credit report, at their request,
once every 12 months.
An amendment to the
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
requires each of the nationwide consumer
reporting companies to provide you with a free
copy of your credit report, at your request,
once every 12 months.
(www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm)
outlines the nine month roll-out period
beginning with the Western states on December1,
2004; explains the ordering process by Web,
toll-free telephone number, and postal address;
gives general information; and includes a copy
of the standard credit report request form. The
publication also will be available in Spanish.
ID theft victims, officials call for more
protection 03/27/05
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HB
6169 of 2004 (PA 457 of 2004)
Criminal procedure; sentencing
guidelines; sentencing guidelines for
crimes of identity theft and obtaining,
possessing, or transferring personal
identifying information of another with
intent to commit identity theft;
establish. Amends secs. 14h & 16o, ch.
XVII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL 777.14h &
777.16o).
-
HB 6172 of 2004 (PA 458 of 2004)
Criminal procedure; statute of
limitations; tolling of statute of
limitations in certain cases of or
related to identity theft; provide for.
Amends sec. 24, ch. VII of 1927 PA 175 (MCL
767.24).
-
HB 6174 of 2004 (PA 459 of 2004)
Consumer protection; privacy; certain
violations of identity protection act;
create remedy in Michigan consumer
protection act. Amends sec. 3 of 1976 PA
331 (MCL 445.903).
-
HB 6177 of 2004 (PA 460 of 2004)
Crimes; electronic surveillance;
capturing certain personal identifying
information without consent; prohibit
and provide penalties. Amends 1931 PA
328 (MCL 750.1 - 750.568) by adding sec.
539k.
-
SB 0792 of 2003 (PA 0452 of 2004)
Consumer protection; privacy; identity
theft protection act; create. Creates
new act & repeals sec. 285 of 1931 PA
328 (MCL 750.285). TIE BAR WITH: SB
0793'03SB 0796'03SB 0797'03SB 0798'03
-
SB 0793 of 2003 (PA 0453 of 2004)
Criminal procedure; jurisdiction; crime
of obtaining personal identity
information of another with intent to
unlawfully use the information; clarify.
Amends 1927 PA 175 (MCL 760.1 - 777.69)
by adding sec. 10c to ch. II. TIE BAR
WITH: SB 0792'03
-
SB 0798 of 2003 (PA 0455 of 2004)
Consumer credit; other; denial of credit
to identity theft victims; prohibit.
Amends sec. 3 of 1976 PA 331 (MCL
445.903).
-
SB 1384 of 2004 (PA 0456 of 2004)
Crime victims; rights; right of victim
of identity theft to obtain police
report of identity theft from law
enforcement agency; establish. Amends
1985 PA 87 (MCL 780.751 - 780.834) by
adding secs. 4a, 33b & 64a. TIE BAR
WITH: SB 0794'03
These bills
make it easier to prosecute identity thieves
by:
- Strengthening the definition of
identity theft (SB 792)
- Expanding jurisdiction options (SB
793)
- Extending the statute of limitations
(SB 803)
They also help
prevent identity theft by limiting how
social security numbers can be used, since
improper use of SSNs is one of the primary
ways identity theft occurs, specifically:
(SB 795 and 657)
- Prohibiting the public display of SSNs
- Prohibiting the printing of SSNs on
health care cards, school ID cards and
other cards, badges, permits or licenses
- Encouraging privacy policies
addressing the use and disposal of
documents with SSNs
- Limiting a company’s right to require
a customer to disclose his/her SSN.
Recent Legislation
SB 309 of 2005 would require
businesses to notify customers when their
personal information has been hacked or
otherwise improperly revealed. This is a
growing national problem, and this
legislation that could help stem the harm
caused by identity theft. Michigan consumers
should have the right to know when the
security of their personal information has
been breached.
SB 377 of 2005 would to give Michigan
consumers more control over their credit
reports. The bill would allow consumers to
place a "security freeze" on their credit
files. By placing a security freeze on your
credit file, identity thieves can't get
credit in your name even if they have your
Social Security number or other sensitive
information. With a security freeze in
place, if a thief applies for credit in your
name, the creditor will be prevented from
viewing your credit report. As a result the
imposter's application will be denied,
stopping the thief in his tracks. Should you
wish to apply for credit, you will be able
to use a special password to temporarily
lift the freeze and allow a creditor to
review your credit file. Four states already
have enacted security freeze laws -
Louisiana, California, Texas and Vermont.
SB 0539 of 2005
Consumer protection; privacy; employer
requirement for use of social security
number to access a computerized system;
prohibit. Amends sec. 3 of 2004 PA 454 (MCL
445.83). Prohibits display in public and use
of entire social security number as the
account number.
Real ID Act of 2005 as referred to the US
Senate by the House (H.R. 418of 2005)
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