Identity Theft

Identity Theft is on the increase in the Central Coast. People should take measures to guard their personal information, especially their social security number. The following are some tips that will help you avoid being victimized by identity theft:

• Shred pre-approved credit card applications, and other mail with your social security number, bank account and credit card account numbers before throwing them into the trash.
• Use of a Post Office Box in lieu of receiving mail at the curb provides additional security, however, never throw personal mail into trash bins located at the Post Office. These locations are a favorite collection point for identity thieves.
• Review your bank and credit card statements each month.
• Limit the amount of credit cards you carry in your wallet. You should not carry with you, or leave your social security card, in your vehicle.
• Be extremely careful about divulging personal information such as place of employment, employee identification number or mother's maiden name. These are key components in identity theft.
• Buy a shredder and use it!

If you do become a victim of identity theft, report it to law enforcement immediately. You should also notify your creditors and report the theft to the three major credit reporting agencies.

More helpful hints:

1. If your wallet gets stolen, contact all 3 credit bureaus and get a fraud alert put on your name, so they have to call you and verify for any credit application. TransUnion 1-800-680-7289 Equifax 1-800-525-6285 Experian 1-888-397-3742
2. Request a copy of your credit report every 3 months from each of the 3 agencies - and go over it with a magnifying glass to dispute anything not accurate.
3. File a police report! This is a must.
4. Contact the identity theft hotline 1-877-438-4338 They mostly use this as a database to help track some people and link cases, which may help law enforcement agencies make a case.
5. Contact the Social Security Administration if you think someone's using your identity or SS number 1-800-269-0271.
6. If your wallet's stolen cancel all your credit cards IMMEDIATELY.
7. Cancel any credit cards you don't use - dept store, jewelry, etc, so they can't "reopen" the account. Make a copy of the front and back of all your cards in your wallet (i.e. license, credit cards, insurance, etc, etc.) so it's very easy to have all the numbers to call with account numbers easily available. Keep this copy in a safe place, so no one can access this info.
8. DO NOT CARRY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD!!!!!!!! This is key to anyone creating a whole new you.
9. Don't carry any cards with your SS number on it. Remember most health and dental insurance cards have your SSI # on them.
10. Only carry necessities in your wallet.
11. If your bankcard or checks get stolen, notify your bank immediately and change all your accounts, including passwords and PINs Stop payment on any outstanding checks.
12. Shred all documents you throw out that may have info on it someone can use (i.e. account #s, ss#, etc.) This includes preauthorized credit applications you get in the mail.

"809" Area Code Warning

Don't respond to E-mails, phone calls, or web pages which tell you to call an "809" Phone Number. This is a very important issue of Scam Busters because it alerts you to a scam that is spreading *extremely* quickly can easily cost you $2,400 or more, and is difficult to avoid unless you are aware of it. We'd like to thank Verizon for bringing this scam to our attention. This scam has also been identified by the National Fraud Information Center and is costing victims a lots of money. There are lots of different permutations of this scam.

HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:

You will receive a message on your answering machine or your pager, which asks you to call a number beginning with area code 809. The reason you're asked to call varies. It can be to receive information about a family member who has been ill, to tell you someone has been arrested, died, to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc. In each case, you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call from the US, you will apparently be charged $2,425 per-minute. Or, you'll get a long recorded message. The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $24,100.00.

The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands (The Bahamas). The 809 area code can be used as a "pay-per-call" number, similar to 900 numbers in the US. Since 809 is not in the US, it is not covered by U.S. regulations of 900 numbers, which require that you be notified and warned of charges and rates involved when you call a pay-per-call" number.

There is also no requirement that the company provide a time period during which you may terminate the call without being charged. Further, whereas many U.S. homes that have 900 number blocking to avoid these kinds of charges, do not work in preventing calls to the 809 area code. We recommend that no matter how you get the message, if you are asked to call a number with an 809 area code that you don't recognize just disregard the message.

Be wary of e-mail or calls asking you to call an 809 area code number. It's important to prevent becoming a victim of this scam, since trying to fight the charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.