Cadence Financial Advisors in Dallas, TX sent the following to their customers on some of their suggestions for reducing their risk of identity theft.
1) Only have the first initial and last name printed on your personal checks.
2) Use a work phone number, if a phone number has to printed or written on your checks.
3) Never write your social security number on checks.
4) Instead of signing the back of your credit cards, write "Photo ID required".
5) When writing checks to your monthly creditors, only put the last four digits of your account number if needed.
6) Find a day to photocopy both the front and back copies of your important id's that you routinely carry with you, such as your driver's license, credit cards, passports, etc. Store this information in a secure location in your home. And if you're going to a public location to photocopy, remember to retrieve everything from the copy machine.
7) Keep these numbers of the three major credit bureaus with your photocopied info:
Equifax (800) 525-6285
Experian (888) 397-3742
Transunion (800) 680-7289
These are the main numbers used to obtain your one free credit report annually from each credit bureau or to file a credit watch in the event your personal information is compromised. Most people request one report from one agency every four months. (For example, Equifax in Jan, Experian in May, Transunion in Sep to coincide with the shopping seasons of Christmas, Summer Vacation, and Back to School)
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