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Should I be concerned about Identity Theft when my bank replaces my credit
cards if they are lost or stolen?
By Linda McKendry of Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc.
What banks and credit card companies have in place used to be
all the protection you needed. However, if you read the fine print on your
credit card agreements today you may notice that the obligation is on you to
report any discrepancies within a certain amount of time, and the
liabilities they will cover have limits. You may not be protected if you
have been a victim for a long period.
Thieves get information about you that can be used fraudulently without your
knowledge and without stealing your wallet. One victim noticed that his
locker at the gym had been forced open. Finding his wallet, he quickly
checked to discover his credit cards were still there. What he didn’t
realize until later was that they had been switched for expired ones that
looked the same!
You need to know that Credit Card Fraud is less than 30% of Identity Theft.
It’s only one of 5 types of identity theft:
1) Department of Motor Vehicles (driver’s licenses and registration
information)
2) Medical information (used to get better plans and benefits or tests)
3) Character or criminal identity (used to commit frauds and crimes )
4) Social Insurance Number (to get employment, social assistance, or avoid
tax)
5) Credit identity (to pay for goods and services or take cash from your
accounts)
Whether you are an identity theft victim today or at some time in the
future, you will need a) access to legal counsel and b) professional
restoration. Lending and banking institutions cannot give you legal advice,
or restore your personal information back to you. They are not responsible
for reversing records or contacting the appropriate agencies that affect the
other 70% of identity theft. Some banks will provide you with a “kit” that
gives you basic instructions, but all restoration requires making contacts
from nine to five, Monday to Friday, which is when most people are working
their regular jobs.
Consult your bank and credit card agreements and read the fine print. Seek
out plans that will put protection in place before you become a victim. Get
a lawyer before you need one. Know your rights, commitments, obligations and
ways to protect yourself.
For more details on this subject, please contact Linda McKendry,
Independent Associate for Pre-Paid Legal at 403.256.6890.
www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/lindamckendry |
