I had a very interesting conversation over lunch last week. Standing in line at a local fast food restaurant with a client who works in law enforcement, I placed my order and opened my wallet to find two one dollar bills, a fifty dollar bill, and my debit card. I groaned. “Is it easier for you if I pay with a fifty or my debit card?” I asked the pimply faced teen behind the counter. “The debit card,” he replied. “Definitely the debit card. If you pay with a fifty, I have to take your fingerprint.” My fingerprint, really?
The clerk went on to explain that with the unemployment rate in the area sky high and the continuation of the crappy economy, the store had experienced a rash of people trying to pass counterfeit bills. It had become such an epidemic that the new policy was to collect a fingerprint and log the serial numbers of every bill larger than a twenty that graced the cash drawer.
During lunch, my client and I talked about how the area had changed due to the economic situation recently. Credit card thefts, arsons, break-ins, auto thefts, and murder/suicides in the area were all on the rise, with the largest jumps noted in credit card fraud and suicides. Having experienced credit card fraud personally in the past, I asked him what he recommends the public do to protect their wealth against theft in such a crappy economy. Here are some tips you can put to use to protect yourself.
1. Don’t shop online with your credit card. The average Joe doesn’t know nearly enough about encryption and security measures to protect his credit card number from being stolen during an online transaction. If you must shop online, use a third party service, such as PayPal, to complete your transactions.
2. Do your banking in person. Online and telebanking might be convenient, but they also provide an opportunity for hacking thieves to swipe your account information. If you must use telebanking, do so from a landline (non cordless) phone to stay safe. Anyone with a police scanner and a little know-how can tune into your conversations made on a cordless or cellular phone.
3. Safeguard your social security number. Don’t opt to put your social security number on your driver’s license and personal checks. If a company asks you for your SS number, ask them why before giving it out. Some companies simply use this number for identification purposes because it saves them from having to develop an internal identification system. This also makes it easy for a would-be thief to make off with your personal information, take out a loan in your name, or steal your identity. Only companies that will be doing a credit check, or securing payment (such as a rental business) should have access to your social security number. Otherwise, tell them it’s off limits for security reasons.
4. Shred all personal documents. Any receipt with your credit card, banking, or investment information on it holds the potential to become a security issue if it finds its way into the hands of the wrong person.
5. Fill in all blanks on every credit card receipt you turn in. If you’re not leaving a tip, draw a line through the blank so no one else can add charges to the receipt after you leave, an always take a copy with you for your records. You’ll need this copy later to help dispute your claims that a charge is invalid.
Protecting yourself and your finances from fraud is made even more difficult during a recession since many thieves become desperate and the number of thieves seem to multiply exponentially. Educate yourself on how to foil fraud artists and thieves. Many credit card and investment companies offer information about protecting your wealth free of charge. Check with your company today to begin protecting your money when thefts are on the rise.
Photo Credit: Don Hankins
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