The Following information was provided by, the Saint Paul, Minnesota, Department of Police.
IF YOUR CHECKS, CREDIT CARDS, OR ACCOUNT INFORMATION WERE TAKEN:
Notify your bank if you have not already done so, and then call the three credit reporting bureaus to report the loss and ask them to put a FRAUD ALERT on your account so NO NEW CREDIT will be issued without contacting you.
| Experian | 1-888-397-3742 | www.experian.com |
| Trans Union | 1-800-680-7289 | www.transunion.com |
| Equifax | 1-800-525-6285 | www.equifax.com |
IF YOUR STOLEN CHECKS OR CARDS HAVE BEEN USED:
Contact the banks and/or businesses that accepted your checks or cards to notify them of the fraud and offer to sign any affidavits of forgery as needed. Encourage the banks and businesses to pursue charges against any suspects identified.
Contact each of the following agencies to notify them of the compromised checking account information (only contact them if YOUR checks were stolen and you have account information to supply them):
| SCAN: (800)269-0271 | E-Funds: (800)428-9623 | Chex systems: (800)328-5121 |
| Check Rite: (800)638-4600 | Int. Check Service: (800)526-5380 | Cross Check: (707)586-0551 |
| Global Payments: (800)766-2748 | National Processing: (800)526-5380 | |
| TeleCheck: (800)710-9898 | National Check Fraud: (843)571-2143 |
IF NEW CHECKS OR CARDS HAVE BEEN MAILED TO A DIFFERENT ADDRESS:
Call the U.S. Postal Inspectors about mail being falsely forwarded.
U.S.P.S. Inspection Service 1-800-372-8347 www.uspis.gov
Local Postal Inspector (Minnesota) (651) 293-3200
IF YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD WAS TAKEN:
Call the Social Security Administration FRAUD HOTLINE to notify them of the loss and get information on how to get a duplicate card.
S.S.A. Fraud Hotline 1-800-269-0271 www.ssa.gov
To check your Social Security personal earnings and Social Security benefit estimate, call 1-800-722-1213
IF SOMEONE HAS STOLEN YOUR IDENTITY TO GET NEW CREDIT:
Call the police department either in the jurisdiction you live, or the jurisdiction the ID theft occurred, and make an Identity Theft report. In Minnesota, Identity Theft becomes a crime only when any victim (person or business) suffers a monetary loss. Also call the Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Hotline to notify them and get advice on how to proceed. Ask for copies of your credit reports. They must provide free copies of credit reports to victims of identity theft. Review your reports carefully to make sure no new additional fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name or unauthorized changes made to existing accounts.
Ask the credit bureaus for names and phone numbers of credit grantors with whom fraudulent accounts have been opened. Request that the credit bureaus remove inquires that have been generated due to the fraudulent access. In dealing with the financial institutions, keep a log of all conversations, including dates, times, names, and phone numbers.
FTC ID Theft Hotline 1-877-438-4338, www.identitytheft.gov
To report fraud to the FTC other than ID Theft, call: 1-877-382–4357
INTERNET FRAUD
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). For victims of Internet fraud, IC3 provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. www.ic3.gov
To report complaints about online and related transactions with foreign companies visit, https://www.econsumer.gov
OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES FOR ADVICE AND INFORMATION:
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse www.privacyrights.org
Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov
US Secret Service www.secretservice.gov
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. www.fdic.gov/consumers/index.html
LookstooGoodtoBeTrue www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com
FakeChecks.Org www.fakechecks.org/prevention.html
Direct Marketing Association www.dmachoice.org
Minnesota Charities Search www.ag.state.mn.us/Charities/CharitySearch.asp
Monster.Com -Be Safe www.help.monster.com/besafe/
Discover www.discover.com/credit-cards/member-benefits/security/fraud/
MasterCard www.mastercard.us/en-us/business/overview/safety-and-security/suspect-fraud.html
Visa www.usa.visa.com/support/consumer/security.html
American Express www.americanexpress.com/us/security-center/reporting-fraud/
What you can do to protect yourself and your family from being victimized again.
- Do not put your driver’s license number on your checks. This makes it easier to get a false ID made.
- Keep all credit card receipts safe. Many criminals use numbers off receipts to defraud.
- Shred credit card offers you get in the mail. Thieves steal mail and trash to get this information.
- NEVER give your credit card number out to someone calling you. Only give your credit card number to organizations you trust.
- Card Fraud Investigators will never call and ask for your credit card number and/or expiration date.
- Don’t leave mail in your mailbox overnight or on weekends. Deposit mail in U.S. Postal Service collection boxes.
- Review your consumer credit report annually.
- Memorize your Social Security number and passwords. Don’t carry them with you. Don’t use your date of birth as your password.