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PROTECTING YOUR
IDENTITY
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BY LAURIE BURSTEIN
Douglas started getting suspicious when his bank statements stopped
coming in the mail. He called his bank several times and even called
the Post Office, but still never received his bank statements. He
went to his bank and asked for a print out of his latest statement
while he waited. He was shocked to find out that there were many
withdrawals that he had not made.
He soon discovered that his roommate was intercepting his mail and
writing checks against his account. “It was amazing how easy it
was for him to take my mail and gain access to my bank account.
I never thought anything like this could happen.”
Identity theft is all too common today and consumers have to be
careful to protect themselves. Tom Mink, a senior security specialist
at Commerce Bank’s Kansas City headquarters, says there are some
simple common sense measures everyone should take. These include
not putting paid bills and personal information in your home mailbox,
especially with the flag up, which can alert potential thieves.
And, not throwing away credit card offers and instant checks without
destroying them first. It’s too easy for a thief to go through your
trash and use the information.
You can put a stop to receiving unsolicited credit card offers by
calling 1-888-OPT OUT (567-8688). This service removes your name
from many of the pre-screened credit card lists.
If you do discover that someone has gained access to your credit
card account, MasterCard International recommends contacting your
bank immediately, writing letters to the three national credit bureaus
to ask them to put a “fraud alert” on your credit report, and filing
a police report.
If your card is lost or stolen, both Visa and MasterCard have a
“zero liability” policy that reimburses you for any unauthorized
card transactions up to the amount of loss when reported within
60 days from the statement date.
Mink says Commerce Bank’s in-house fraud detection department works
directly with customers on a case-by-case basis who have checks
or credit cards stolen. “We know our customers feel more comfortable
talking directly to the bank if there is a problem with secur- ity
rather than to an outside company we could hire. From a business
standpoint, we offer this as part of our commitment to customer
service.”
| "AT
MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL, ALL THE COMPANY'S TECHNICAL
SYSTEMS ARE BASED HERE FOR MONITORING FRAUD ATTEMPTS
WORLDWIDE. OUR SYSTEMS RUN 24 HOURS A DAY AND CAN
OFTER STOP FRAUD BEFORE IT HAPPENS." |
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Linda
Locke
VP of Global Communications,
MasterCard International
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MasterCard’s St. Louis office also plays an important role in protecting
consumers against fraud. Linda Locke, VP of Global Communica-tions,
says all the company’s technical systems are based here for monitoring
fraud attempts worldwide. “Our systems run 24 hours a day and can
often stop fraud before it happens,” Locke explains.
MasterCard says that fraud levels for the company in 2002 remain
at lower levels compared with the peak levels in the early 1990s.
And globally, fraud as a percentage of transactions was down in
2002 and continues to remain low in 2003. This may be due, in part,
to the systems that review how and where a card is being used and
can block potential fraud if abnormal patterns are detected.
Fraud incidents may also be down due to new systems both MasterCard
and Visa are using with merchants. In the past year, credit card
companies are working with stores and restaurants to limit the display
of credit card account numbers on customer receipts. Many merchants
now use new credit card machines that display only the last four
digits of the individual’s credit card number.
When
it comes to protecting your identity, some of the best advice is
also easy and inexpensive. Invest in a $20 paper shredder and destroy
all mail and offers containing personal information. It’s one more
way to protect your identity.
Laurie Burstein is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer.
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