Ever had your wallet stolen ????

<< We pass along jokes; we pass along just about everything. Do think about passing this information along. It could really help someone. And even if you decide to trash the email, you may want to save the 4 phone numbers at the bottom.
Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each #######, 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.

A corporate attorney sent this out to the employees in his company. I pass it along, for your information.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed us in your name, address, SS#, credit, etc. Unfortunately I (the author of this piece who happens to be an attorney) have first hand knowledge, because my wallet was stolen last month and 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, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information on line, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know. As everyone always advises, cancel your credit cards immediately, but 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 easily. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important (I never ever thought to do this):
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and SS#. 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 2 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 in their tracks.

The numbers are
Equifax 1-800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW) 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration (fraud line) 1-800-269-0271

I lost my wallet when I was 19.
A week went by and some guy calls me up and said, Is this Gene Osborn?
Yes it is, I said.
He asked, Did you recently loose your wallet?
Why, yes I did, did you find it?
Yes, he replied, and I am gonna keep it, and hung up.

No such thing as caller ID back then,