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CNN Live Saturday
"Dollar Signs": Protectiong Yourself From Identity Theft
Aired November 29, 2003 - 16:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR, DOLLAR SIGNS: And now we turn to today's DOLLAR SIGNS. The rapidly growing crime of identity theft: for the next half hour, you'll be hearing from experts offering valuable tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. And if your identity has already been stolen, steps you can take to repair your credit.
So just how savvy are identity thieves? As CNN Financial Correspondent Ali Velshi reports, many of their schemes have gone high tech.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll pay anybody to find this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one wins.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sometimes you can spot a scam a mile away. Others present themselves in less obvious ways. And if you think you're too savvy to be conned by any old scam, think again. Like everything else, swindling has gone high tech.
DAVID LAWRENCE, INTERNET FRAUD SPECIALISTS: Probably the most often attempted scams are Internet scams because it's hard to trace backwards in the process. You can hide yourself fairly easily that way.
VELSHI: And today's con artists could be after something more valuable than just a few dollars. They could be after your identity. Spoofing is one scam where you'll get an e-mail from what seems to be a well-known company. They use the familiarity and trust and logos of a well-known brand to get personal information.
JOANNA CRANE, FTC, PROGRAM MANAGER: Another recent one was on Monster.com, and this has hit other job sites, where scamsters will post a phony job offering. Then they'll respond to applicants by saying your application looks great.
We'd like to learn more about you. We need to perform an extensive background check. Please send us detailed information. And they'll ask for your name, your date of birth, probably Social Security number and other key information for assuming your identity.
VELSHI: And what do they do with the information once they have it? Crimes range from emptying your bank accounts to taking out loans for cars and homes in your name. The question the scammer asks of you by phone, e-mail, or regular mail might also be a give away. LAWRENCE: A company will never ask you for information they already have. They will offer that information to you and ask you to confirm it. If a company is saying so what's your Social Security number again? What's that bank account number? Say to them, you tell me what you've got, and I'll tell you what's correct. Or say give me the first five digits of my bank account, and I'll give you the last five or the other way around.
VELSHI: Checking your credit report for unauthorized activity is one way to keep an eye on credit theft. If you do identify a potential scam or think you've been a victim of one, the first place to turn to for help is your local police department.
For "Dollar Signs," I'm Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And that is the bottom line, to protect your personal information. But is that possible in today's credit card and Internet driven society? Joining me with answers are two experts. Lauren Young is a personal finance editor at "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley is the founder and director of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
Thank you both for joining us this weekend, this holiday shopping weekend.
And Linda Foley, let me begin with you. What is the single most important thing that consumers can do to protect their identity?
LINDA FOLEY, IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CTR: Take your Social Security card out of your wallet this very instant. The reality is identity thieves aren't taking a holiday. In fact, this is their busy time of year. They're depending on the fact that you have an overcrowded wallet, and they're going to be able to steal it while you're being distracted with your purchases, and with everything else you're doing during the holiday.
WALLACE: And, Lauren Young, let me ask you. Is this time of year, as Linda Foley was just saying, a time of year when thieves really step up their activity to try and take advantage?
LAUREN YOUNG, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR, "BUSINESSWEEK": Well, people are out using their credit cards, right? So there's lots of opportunities for people to steal your credit card.
I think Linda's absolutely right. Get your Social Security number out of your wallet. But sometimes that means getting your insurance card out of your wallet, too. Chances are you're going to have to call your insurance company and ask them -- for health insurance, for example, to change that number.
Overall, you definitely want to be on the lookout for thieves. I was talking to people earlier today. They had it happen to them two days ago. The sensitive information you really, really have to make sure that you keep it close to the vest. WALLACE: And, Miss Foley, what if it happens to you? What if I'm out shopping and someone steals my credit cards? And I feel that I might be a victim of identity theft. What is the first thing that I should do?
FOLEY: It depends on what you think has been stolen. If your wallet has been stolen, obviously, the first thing you want to do is cancel any credit cards that you have. Again, I'm going to go back to don't take anything to the store that you don't need that very day. Eliminate how many credit cards you have in your wallet, carry only one or two. Don't take a card that has your Social Security number on it, then a thief can't get hold of it.
I highly recommend leave the checkbook at home. Leave your debit cards at home, especially those that are not password protected. Take one or two credit cards. You'll stay in your budget. Take your driver's license. Put it in a fanny pack so the thieves can't get hold of it.
If you do become a victim, immediately start canceling out anything that you have with you. Contact the police, contact your bank. We have to realize something. There's a co-responsible party, and we were just alluding to that. It's all the companies that force us to carry information with us that the thieves want to get hold of.
You're going to get a cash register receipt for each of your purchases. Your credit card number may well be on that cash register receipt. Don't put it in the bag with the sweater for granny. Put it in a safe place where the thief can't get hold of it. They're not going to steal the sweater. They want that cash register receipt.
WALLACE: They want that receipt. But Lauren Young, what about in this online world? What if you shop online? What do you need to do there to protect yourself from identity theft?
YOUNG: That's a great question. You know, obviously, you want to shop with a retailer you know. We all know the big ones out there, Amazon.com, eBay. The list goes on. When you're on their web sites, you know when you're entering a secure area. You can see it on the top of the web page.
Now, in the report that we just saw by Ali, you see that there's some scamsters out there asking you for personal information. They're contacting you and saying let's update your information. When you're shopping on some of the major Internet retailers web sites, you can be pretty safe and secure that you're in a good place. When people are coming to you and ask you asking you for the information, that's when the red flags should be going up.
FOLEY: I'd like to add one other thing.
WALLACE: Go ahead, Linda.
FOLEY: Don't shop with anything other than a credit card when you're shopping online. Use that one credit card exclusively. Check the statement as it comes in each month. Make sure everything's correct. Your credit cards are protected by a federal law. Your checks are not. Debit cards are not. And there's far too much checking account fraud going on right now to even trust giving a check number to someone through an infomercial or online.
WALLACE: Lauren Young, do you think it's something you'd recommend to people to enroll in these companies that watch your credit for you and advise you right away if there might be a problem or someone might have your credit card number?
YOUNG: That's a really good question, Kelly. I think everybody's getting bombarded by these services now. I'm sure you got something in the mail from your bank asking if you want to enroll in these programs. There's insurance, and there's also monitoring services.
The insurance can cost you $25 to $50 a month. The monitoring services can be quite expensive each year. They're definitely not worth it for most people. If you've been a victim of identity theft, sure, and you really want to be keeping close watch of what's going on in your bank accounts and with all your different accounts, go for one of those services.
But for the average person, they're really not worthwhile. What Linda said is absolutely right. When your credit card statement comes in your mailbox and when your bank account statement comes, look over it very carefully. Do not just file it into a drawer and look over it at the end of the year. You really want to be keeping watch of these things every time it comes every month.
And you can check your credit report right now. And I do recommend people do it at least once a year. As you know, there's new legislation that's president is going to sign. What's great about this legislation is, if someone, if something happens and there is something where your credit is denied, now consumers will be told about that. Before it didn't happen for a really long time. You didn't know when your credit was being denied. That's another safeguard that will be coming very soon.
FOLEY: You can also put fraud alerts on your credit reports, and that will help. Companies will -- the better companies do call and let you know and say we just got an application at such and such store in San Jose, California. Was that you, or was that someone else? It gives you an opportunity to say no, do not issue credit.
WALLACE: OK. Linda Foley, Lauren Young, hold those thoughts. Because now we want to open it up to telephone calls and e-mails. That's next on DOLLAR SIGNS. Of course, you can still send your question to dollarsigns@cnn.com or call in. The toll free number is 1- 800-807-2620.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And welcome back to DOLLAR SIGNS on CNN. Our focus today, a look at how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. Joining me again are Lauren Young, a personal finance editor of "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley, founder and director of Identity Theft Resource Center. Our first e-mail is from Debbie in Columbia, Missouri. And Debbie writes: "Do I need to shred personal finance statements if I live in a single family home and have my trash picked up weekly; with the trash bags thrown into a compression truck?"
Linda Foley, why don't you take that?
FOLEY: Absolutely. Anything that has your personal identifying information needs to go through good cross-cut shredder. We have this feeling that if we live in a small community, everybody knows everybody. It's not who lives in your community. It's who comes into your community to take the mail.
And, again, I'll go back to that co-responsibility. If companies wouldn't send me something with my Social Security number on it, I wouldn't have to worry about shredding it. But they do, so we do need to take that added step of either shredding it or rendering it unreadable before we put it out in that trash.
WALLACE: Our first phone call right now, Bob from Tennessee is on the line. Let's have Lauren Young take this question.
Hello, Bob. What's your question?
CALLER: Thank you for taking my call.com (sic). What is the minimum amount of information you have to give to make online purchases? Some web sites want your credit card number, blood type, sperm count. Other web sites, thank you for taking my call.com (sic), they want you to send a $5 bill to a P.O. Box for a tape of live TV shows. That's the difference between the web sites like thank you for taking my call.com (sic) and those others like Amazon and those other ones that want the information to be given be.
What is your ladies' opinions on that? How long would you let a fella be on the air calling in and asking --
WALLACE: I think we answered that one. Lauren Young, how much information is too much information?
YOUNG: That was a little bit too much information for me.
WALLACE: That was. Yeah, I think so. Myself as well.
YOUNG: But actually there was a good question in there. And you know, when you deal with Amazon.com, for example, and some of the other online retailers, once you've given them your credit card, they have that information. They capture it and store it. As Linda said, we're always really cautious about giving people that information and letting them hold on to it.
So far, I haven't heard a lot of problems with Amazon.com or other retailers. The good thing about that is you don't have to go back in there and re-enter your credit card over and over again. I know -- this has happened to me and I'm sure it's happened to you.
For example, when you buy something online and mess something up, you have to go through and re-enter your credit card information over and over again. It does not capture that information. That's actually a really good thing. Because if somebody comes by and looks at your computer when you walk away, they can't capture that information.
One other point I want to make, when you do use a credit card, they ask you for a security number on the back of the card, or sometimes it's on the front of the card above your last few numbers. They are really trying to make sure there's some stop gaps in place so that they can capture it in a safe way.
WALLACE: Let's go now to another e-mail. This is from Bill Kelly in St. Peters, Missouri.
Bill writes: They tell us not to carry things like our Social Security card to prevent identity theft. We must be carry out Medicare card....which has our Social Security number on it. Anyway around this?
WALLACE: Linda Foley?
FOLEY: My favorite question. Your absolutely right. I can't help military because they need them to get on base. But for everyone else, here's your Heloise Tip of the day. Take a photocopy of the front and back of any card that has your Social Security number on it. Cut it back down to wallet size, and while you have your scissors in your hand, cut off the last four numbers of your Social Security number.
Carry that on a daily basis with you. That's good for your health insurance cards, Medicare cards, employee cards. You don't need it with you, don't carry it with you.
But I'll go one step further. Take those last four numbers, put it on a sheet of paper along with your medical history, including any prescriptions, allergies, and any current diagnosis of any medical conditions, give it to a trusted friend or relative, carry that person's name and number with you. In case of an emergency, now the thieves don't get your information and emergency personnel have a starting point that may actually save your life.
WALLACE: Very, very good information there. Let's go to the phones again. Laurie is on the phone from California.
Good afternoon, Laurie. What is your question?
OK. I think we don't have Laurie there. But we have an e-mail from Joe in Johnson, Ohio.
Joe writes: "Is it advisable to obtain a pre-paid credit card for on-line transactions to help prevent or at least limit the possibility of identity theft?"
A good point there, Lauren Young. What do you think?
YOUNG: I think that those prepaid cards are actually pretty good. But the bottom line is what's the interest rate going to be? If you're paying a huge amount just to use that service, then it's probably not going to be worthwhile. You can probably (AUDIO GAP).
I thought Linda had a really good tip earlier in the previous segment about the fact of just having one credit card that you use for online purchases all the time. That will actually do the trick just as well. But the prepaid cards are good as long as you're not paying really high interest rates.
Remember your credit cards are federally protected. You're not liable for more than $50. And most companies have assumed a zero liability program if you can determine that this is fraud.
WALLACE: OK. Linda Foley, Lauren Young, hold it right there. We'll have more phone calls and e-mails after the break. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Welcome back. We are right in the thick of learning how not to become a victim of identity theft. Our guest today, Lauren Young joining us from Philadelphia. Linda Foley, our guest from San Diego.
We want to go to the phones, try these phones again. Donna from Michigan is on the line.
Donna, good afternoon. What is your question?
CALLER: Hi. The question that I have is that I've been the victim of identity theft, and I flagged my credit report, and I've dealt with the charges that have been made on accounts I didn't authorize. But I'm concerned about my ability to get approved for a loan for a car, things like that.
WALLACE: Great question. Linda Foley, what's your response?
FOLEY: Number one, you've called up the credit issuers with the fraudulent accounts. Be sure to get letters of clearance from them. Make sure that you request that they remove the fraudulent activity from both your credit report as well as the inquiry, which can also lower your FICA score.
If you've been able to take care of all of the problems of the impostor has created, your FICA score should go up to what it was prior to this incident and should not affect your ability to get a loan. If you're having problems, though, please contact our office. We do provide victim assistance for free, and we'd be happy to work with you.
WALLACE: Let's go look at an e-mail now. It's a subject we touched on a little bit in our discussion.
Chris from Corona, California, writes: Is it a good idea to put a credit watch on my credit reports to make it harder for my identity to be stolen? My identity has not been stolen yet.
WALLACE: Lauren, what do you think of that?
YOUNG: Well, I think that, if your identity has not been stolen yet and you're being really safe and secure, that's really the most important thing. I think taking the Social Security number out of your wallet, not using your credit cards in a bad way. That's the most important thing.
Putting a credit watch on there, I don't know. I'd actually like to hear what Linda has to say about this. I don't really think it's going to make a difference. Do you agree with me?
FOLEY: Actually as a victim of identity theft, I've worked with a lot of consumers, if you're not someone who wants to get credit frequently, go ahead and put the security alert on your credit report. Remember, it's a request. Creditors are not obligated to observe it.
California, however, also has a credit freeze law, as does Texas, and you may want to take a look at that. You can find out information from the Department of Consumer Affairs, here in California. What it does is it really locks the door to your credit report. Unfortunately, the world of instant credit remains closed to you from that point forward.
WALLACE: And Mark from Aurora, Colorado is writing, something that a lot of consumers might be thinking about. He says: I receive multiple credit card offers each day, which quickly add up to probably close to a thousand offers a year. I don't want them. I don't need them, but can I really just throw them away or can someone use these simple mailings to start stealing my identity?
Good point. Lauren Young?
YOUNG: Absolutely, they can. And you can actually opt out of some of those credit card solicitations. There are ways to do that. Contact your main credit card company. Please tell them you don't want to be receiving future solicitations. And also, I'm sure, if you go to Linda's web site, if you go onto the "BusinessWeek" web site, you can get some phone numbers of organizations where you can opt out -- just like you can for the do-not-call registry -- out of credit card solicitations.
So important when you get those credit card solicitations in the mail, to shred them. Do not throw them out in the trash.
WALLACE: Linda Foley?
FOLEY: One telephone number to know you get off the direct marketing list, the credit reporting agencies, which are Equifax, Trans Union, Experian, is 888-5-OPT-OUT.
I will warn you they're going to ask for your Social Security number. You can opt out for a limited period of time or an extended period of time, in which case they'll send you something by mail. You'll have to provide the same information to them that you did by telephone. But it does cut back those pre-approved offers by about 60 percent. Remember, however, as Lauren said, put them through a shredder. Those can be converted. Unfortunately, we do have victims who someone did get it and used it in their place.
YOUNG: Can I just add one --
WALLACE: Linda Foley -- very briefly, Lauren Young. We are almost out of time, five seconds.
YOUNG: I was just going to say, also, when you do that, it's going to take three to six months to actually stop getting all those solicitations.
FOLEY: Correct.
WALLACE: OK. Very, very valuable information, especially this holiday weekend. Lauren Young, personal finance editor at "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley, founder and director of the Identity Theft Resource Center. We really appreciate you coming in, especially this holiday weekend.
FOLEY: You're welcome.
YOUNG: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 29, 2003 - 16:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR, DOLLAR SIGNS: And now we turn to today's DOLLAR SIGNS. The rapidly growing crime of identity theft: for the next half hour, you'll be hearing from experts offering valuable tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. And if your identity has already been stolen, steps you can take to repair your credit.
So just how savvy are identity thieves? As CNN Financial Correspondent Ali Velshi reports, many of their schemes have gone high tech.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll pay anybody to find this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one wins.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sometimes you can spot a scam a mile away. Others present themselves in less obvious ways. And if you think you're too savvy to be conned by any old scam, think again. Like everything else, swindling has gone high tech.
DAVID LAWRENCE, INTERNET FRAUD SPECIALISTS: Probably the most often attempted scams are Internet scams because it's hard to trace backwards in the process. You can hide yourself fairly easily that way.
VELSHI: And today's con artists could be after something more valuable than just a few dollars. They could be after your identity. Spoofing is one scam where you'll get an e-mail from what seems to be a well-known company. They use the familiarity and trust and logos of a well-known brand to get personal information.
JOANNA CRANE, FTC, PROGRAM MANAGER: Another recent one was on Monster.com, and this has hit other job sites, where scamsters will post a phony job offering. Then they'll respond to applicants by saying your application looks great.
We'd like to learn more about you. We need to perform an extensive background check. Please send us detailed information. And they'll ask for your name, your date of birth, probably Social Security number and other key information for assuming your identity.
VELSHI: And what do they do with the information once they have it? Crimes range from emptying your bank accounts to taking out loans for cars and homes in your name. The question the scammer asks of you by phone, e-mail, or regular mail might also be a give away. LAWRENCE: A company will never ask you for information they already have. They will offer that information to you and ask you to confirm it. If a company is saying so what's your Social Security number again? What's that bank account number? Say to them, you tell me what you've got, and I'll tell you what's correct. Or say give me the first five digits of my bank account, and I'll give you the last five or the other way around.
VELSHI: Checking your credit report for unauthorized activity is one way to keep an eye on credit theft. If you do identify a potential scam or think you've been a victim of one, the first place to turn to for help is your local police department.
For "Dollar Signs," I'm Ali Velshi, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And that is the bottom line, to protect your personal information. But is that possible in today's credit card and Internet driven society? Joining me with answers are two experts. Lauren Young is a personal finance editor at "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley is the founder and director of the Identity Theft Resource Center.
Thank you both for joining us this weekend, this holiday shopping weekend.
And Linda Foley, let me begin with you. What is the single most important thing that consumers can do to protect their identity?
LINDA FOLEY, IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CTR: Take your Social Security card out of your wallet this very instant. The reality is identity thieves aren't taking a holiday. In fact, this is their busy time of year. They're depending on the fact that you have an overcrowded wallet, and they're going to be able to steal it while you're being distracted with your purchases, and with everything else you're doing during the holiday.
WALLACE: And, Lauren Young, let me ask you. Is this time of year, as Linda Foley was just saying, a time of year when thieves really step up their activity to try and take advantage?
LAUREN YOUNG, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR, "BUSINESSWEEK": Well, people are out using their credit cards, right? So there's lots of opportunities for people to steal your credit card.
I think Linda's absolutely right. Get your Social Security number out of your wallet. But sometimes that means getting your insurance card out of your wallet, too. Chances are you're going to have to call your insurance company and ask them -- for health insurance, for example, to change that number.
Overall, you definitely want to be on the lookout for thieves. I was talking to people earlier today. They had it happen to them two days ago. The sensitive information you really, really have to make sure that you keep it close to the vest. WALLACE: And, Miss Foley, what if it happens to you? What if I'm out shopping and someone steals my credit cards? And I feel that I might be a victim of identity theft. What is the first thing that I should do?
FOLEY: It depends on what you think has been stolen. If your wallet has been stolen, obviously, the first thing you want to do is cancel any credit cards that you have. Again, I'm going to go back to don't take anything to the store that you don't need that very day. Eliminate how many credit cards you have in your wallet, carry only one or two. Don't take a card that has your Social Security number on it, then a thief can't get hold of it.
I highly recommend leave the checkbook at home. Leave your debit cards at home, especially those that are not password protected. Take one or two credit cards. You'll stay in your budget. Take your driver's license. Put it in a fanny pack so the thieves can't get hold of it.
If you do become a victim, immediately start canceling out anything that you have with you. Contact the police, contact your bank. We have to realize something. There's a co-responsible party, and we were just alluding to that. It's all the companies that force us to carry information with us that the thieves want to get hold of.
You're going to get a cash register receipt for each of your purchases. Your credit card number may well be on that cash register receipt. Don't put it in the bag with the sweater for granny. Put it in a safe place where the thief can't get hold of it. They're not going to steal the sweater. They want that cash register receipt.
WALLACE: They want that receipt. But Lauren Young, what about in this online world? What if you shop online? What do you need to do there to protect yourself from identity theft?
YOUNG: That's a great question. You know, obviously, you want to shop with a retailer you know. We all know the big ones out there, Amazon.com, eBay. The list goes on. When you're on their web sites, you know when you're entering a secure area. You can see it on the top of the web page.
Now, in the report that we just saw by Ali, you see that there's some scamsters out there asking you for personal information. They're contacting you and saying let's update your information. When you're shopping on some of the major Internet retailers web sites, you can be pretty safe and secure that you're in a good place. When people are coming to you and ask you asking you for the information, that's when the red flags should be going up.
FOLEY: I'd like to add one other thing.
WALLACE: Go ahead, Linda.
FOLEY: Don't shop with anything other than a credit card when you're shopping online. Use that one credit card exclusively. Check the statement as it comes in each month. Make sure everything's correct. Your credit cards are protected by a federal law. Your checks are not. Debit cards are not. And there's far too much checking account fraud going on right now to even trust giving a check number to someone through an infomercial or online.
WALLACE: Lauren Young, do you think it's something you'd recommend to people to enroll in these companies that watch your credit for you and advise you right away if there might be a problem or someone might have your credit card number?
YOUNG: That's a really good question, Kelly. I think everybody's getting bombarded by these services now. I'm sure you got something in the mail from your bank asking if you want to enroll in these programs. There's insurance, and there's also monitoring services.
The insurance can cost you $25 to $50 a month. The monitoring services can be quite expensive each year. They're definitely not worth it for most people. If you've been a victim of identity theft, sure, and you really want to be keeping close watch of what's going on in your bank accounts and with all your different accounts, go for one of those services.
But for the average person, they're really not worthwhile. What Linda said is absolutely right. When your credit card statement comes in your mailbox and when your bank account statement comes, look over it very carefully. Do not just file it into a drawer and look over it at the end of the year. You really want to be keeping watch of these things every time it comes every month.
And you can check your credit report right now. And I do recommend people do it at least once a year. As you know, there's new legislation that's president is going to sign. What's great about this legislation is, if someone, if something happens and there is something where your credit is denied, now consumers will be told about that. Before it didn't happen for a really long time. You didn't know when your credit was being denied. That's another safeguard that will be coming very soon.
FOLEY: You can also put fraud alerts on your credit reports, and that will help. Companies will -- the better companies do call and let you know and say we just got an application at such and such store in San Jose, California. Was that you, or was that someone else? It gives you an opportunity to say no, do not issue credit.
WALLACE: OK. Linda Foley, Lauren Young, hold those thoughts. Because now we want to open it up to telephone calls and e-mails. That's next on DOLLAR SIGNS. Of course, you can still send your question to dollarsigns@cnn.com or call in. The toll free number is 1- 800-807-2620.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And welcome back to DOLLAR SIGNS on CNN. Our focus today, a look at how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. Joining me again are Lauren Young, a personal finance editor of "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley, founder and director of Identity Theft Resource Center. Our first e-mail is from Debbie in Columbia, Missouri. And Debbie writes: "Do I need to shred personal finance statements if I live in a single family home and have my trash picked up weekly; with the trash bags thrown into a compression truck?"
Linda Foley, why don't you take that?
FOLEY: Absolutely. Anything that has your personal identifying information needs to go through good cross-cut shredder. We have this feeling that if we live in a small community, everybody knows everybody. It's not who lives in your community. It's who comes into your community to take the mail.
And, again, I'll go back to that co-responsibility. If companies wouldn't send me something with my Social Security number on it, I wouldn't have to worry about shredding it. But they do, so we do need to take that added step of either shredding it or rendering it unreadable before we put it out in that trash.
WALLACE: Our first phone call right now, Bob from Tennessee is on the line. Let's have Lauren Young take this question.
Hello, Bob. What's your question?
CALLER: Thank you for taking my call.com (sic). What is the minimum amount of information you have to give to make online purchases? Some web sites want your credit card number, blood type, sperm count. Other web sites, thank you for taking my call.com (sic), they want you to send a $5 bill to a P.O. Box for a tape of live TV shows. That's the difference between the web sites like thank you for taking my call.com (sic) and those others like Amazon and those other ones that want the information to be given be.
What is your ladies' opinions on that? How long would you let a fella be on the air calling in and asking --
WALLACE: I think we answered that one. Lauren Young, how much information is too much information?
YOUNG: That was a little bit too much information for me.
WALLACE: That was. Yeah, I think so. Myself as well.
YOUNG: But actually there was a good question in there. And you know, when you deal with Amazon.com, for example, and some of the other online retailers, once you've given them your credit card, they have that information. They capture it and store it. As Linda said, we're always really cautious about giving people that information and letting them hold on to it.
So far, I haven't heard a lot of problems with Amazon.com or other retailers. The good thing about that is you don't have to go back in there and re-enter your credit card over and over again. I know -- this has happened to me and I'm sure it's happened to you.
For example, when you buy something online and mess something up, you have to go through and re-enter your credit card information over and over again. It does not capture that information. That's actually a really good thing. Because if somebody comes by and looks at your computer when you walk away, they can't capture that information.
One other point I want to make, when you do use a credit card, they ask you for a security number on the back of the card, or sometimes it's on the front of the card above your last few numbers. They are really trying to make sure there's some stop gaps in place so that they can capture it in a safe way.
WALLACE: Let's go now to another e-mail. This is from Bill Kelly in St. Peters, Missouri.
Bill writes: They tell us not to carry things like our Social Security card to prevent identity theft. We must be carry out Medicare card....which has our Social Security number on it. Anyway around this?
WALLACE: Linda Foley?
FOLEY: My favorite question. Your absolutely right. I can't help military because they need them to get on base. But for everyone else, here's your Heloise Tip of the day. Take a photocopy of the front and back of any card that has your Social Security number on it. Cut it back down to wallet size, and while you have your scissors in your hand, cut off the last four numbers of your Social Security number.
Carry that on a daily basis with you. That's good for your health insurance cards, Medicare cards, employee cards. You don't need it with you, don't carry it with you.
But I'll go one step further. Take those last four numbers, put it on a sheet of paper along with your medical history, including any prescriptions, allergies, and any current diagnosis of any medical conditions, give it to a trusted friend or relative, carry that person's name and number with you. In case of an emergency, now the thieves don't get your information and emergency personnel have a starting point that may actually save your life.
WALLACE: Very, very good information there. Let's go to the phones again. Laurie is on the phone from California.
Good afternoon, Laurie. What is your question?
OK. I think we don't have Laurie there. But we have an e-mail from Joe in Johnson, Ohio.
Joe writes: "Is it advisable to obtain a pre-paid credit card for on-line transactions to help prevent or at least limit the possibility of identity theft?"
A good point there, Lauren Young. What do you think?
YOUNG: I think that those prepaid cards are actually pretty good. But the bottom line is what's the interest rate going to be? If you're paying a huge amount just to use that service, then it's probably not going to be worthwhile. You can probably (AUDIO GAP).
I thought Linda had a really good tip earlier in the previous segment about the fact of just having one credit card that you use for online purchases all the time. That will actually do the trick just as well. But the prepaid cards are good as long as you're not paying really high interest rates.
Remember your credit cards are federally protected. You're not liable for more than $50. And most companies have assumed a zero liability program if you can determine that this is fraud.
WALLACE: OK. Linda Foley, Lauren Young, hold it right there. We'll have more phone calls and e-mails after the break. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Welcome back. We are right in the thick of learning how not to become a victim of identity theft. Our guest today, Lauren Young joining us from Philadelphia. Linda Foley, our guest from San Diego.
We want to go to the phones, try these phones again. Donna from Michigan is on the line.
Donna, good afternoon. What is your question?
CALLER: Hi. The question that I have is that I've been the victim of identity theft, and I flagged my credit report, and I've dealt with the charges that have been made on accounts I didn't authorize. But I'm concerned about my ability to get approved for a loan for a car, things like that.
WALLACE: Great question. Linda Foley, what's your response?
FOLEY: Number one, you've called up the credit issuers with the fraudulent accounts. Be sure to get letters of clearance from them. Make sure that you request that they remove the fraudulent activity from both your credit report as well as the inquiry, which can also lower your FICA score.
If you've been able to take care of all of the problems of the impostor has created, your FICA score should go up to what it was prior to this incident and should not affect your ability to get a loan. If you're having problems, though, please contact our office. We do provide victim assistance for free, and we'd be happy to work with you.
WALLACE: Let's go look at an e-mail now. It's a subject we touched on a little bit in our discussion.
Chris from Corona, California, writes: Is it a good idea to put a credit watch on my credit reports to make it harder for my identity to be stolen? My identity has not been stolen yet.
WALLACE: Lauren, what do you think of that?
YOUNG: Well, I think that, if your identity has not been stolen yet and you're being really safe and secure, that's really the most important thing. I think taking the Social Security number out of your wallet, not using your credit cards in a bad way. That's the most important thing.
Putting a credit watch on there, I don't know. I'd actually like to hear what Linda has to say about this. I don't really think it's going to make a difference. Do you agree with me?
FOLEY: Actually as a victim of identity theft, I've worked with a lot of consumers, if you're not someone who wants to get credit frequently, go ahead and put the security alert on your credit report. Remember, it's a request. Creditors are not obligated to observe it.
California, however, also has a credit freeze law, as does Texas, and you may want to take a look at that. You can find out information from the Department of Consumer Affairs, here in California. What it does is it really locks the door to your credit report. Unfortunately, the world of instant credit remains closed to you from that point forward.
WALLACE: And Mark from Aurora, Colorado is writing, something that a lot of consumers might be thinking about. He says: I receive multiple credit card offers each day, which quickly add up to probably close to a thousand offers a year. I don't want them. I don't need them, but can I really just throw them away or can someone use these simple mailings to start stealing my identity?
Good point. Lauren Young?
YOUNG: Absolutely, they can. And you can actually opt out of some of those credit card solicitations. There are ways to do that. Contact your main credit card company. Please tell them you don't want to be receiving future solicitations. And also, I'm sure, if you go to Linda's web site, if you go onto the "BusinessWeek" web site, you can get some phone numbers of organizations where you can opt out -- just like you can for the do-not-call registry -- out of credit card solicitations.
So important when you get those credit card solicitations in the mail, to shred them. Do not throw them out in the trash.
WALLACE: Linda Foley?
FOLEY: One telephone number to know you get off the direct marketing list, the credit reporting agencies, which are Equifax, Trans Union, Experian, is 888-5-OPT-OUT.
I will warn you they're going to ask for your Social Security number. You can opt out for a limited period of time or an extended period of time, in which case they'll send you something by mail. You'll have to provide the same information to them that you did by telephone. But it does cut back those pre-approved offers by about 60 percent. Remember, however, as Lauren said, put them through a shredder. Those can be converted. Unfortunately, we do have victims who someone did get it and used it in their place.
YOUNG: Can I just add one --
WALLACE: Linda Foley -- very briefly, Lauren Young. We are almost out of time, five seconds.
YOUNG: I was just going to say, also, when you do that, it's going to take three to six months to actually stop getting all those solicitations.
FOLEY: Correct.
WALLACE: OK. Very, very valuable information, especially this holiday weekend. Lauren Young, personal finance editor at "BusinessWeek" magazine, and Linda Foley, founder and director of the Identity Theft Resource Center. We really appreciate you coming in, especially this holiday weekend.
FOLEY: You're welcome.
YOUNG: Thank you.
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