Let’s hope this never happens to you - first bills that you don’t recognize start showing up on your statements, then you get turned down for a car loan, or start getting threatening calls from bill collecters. Maybe you have been the victim of identity theft.
A recent General Accounting Office report estimates that as many as 750,000 Americans are victims of identity theft every year. And that number may be low, as many people choose not to report the crime or, for that matter, even know they’ve been victimized.
There are many recommendations for keeping your personal data private, such as shredding financial documents before discarding them, and keeping your social security number private. Unfortunately, as regular travelers we have significant exposure to theft of credit card information. Through the use of a skimmer (a small device that reads the data from the magnetic strip on your card), anyone that handles your card could potentially capture this information.
Other parts of the world have taken measures to minimize this activity, implementing smart cards (a credit card that contains a chip) which resist the efforts of skimmers to steal your details. You may also notice that most waiters in Europe now bring a credit card remote device to your table and process your card right there, rather than taking your card off to some remote part of the restaurant to process it.
Even with these measures, Traveling Telecommuters are still at risk for identity theft. We travel to remote parts of our own countries and the rest of the world, often patronizing unknown merchants. We strongly suggest the use of credit monitoring services to keep an eye on the level of activity on your credit files at the major bureaus. If you detect fraund, here are some handy numbers to contact these agencies and minimize the damage:
Equifax
To report fraud: 1-800-525-6285
and write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian
To report fraud: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
and write: P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion
To report fraud: 1-800-680-7289
and write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92634
You should also ask them to lock your credit records and ask creditors to contact you prior to opening any new accounts.