FROM: HOLLEY
CARNRIGHT
DATE: DECEMBER 4,
2012
RE: PRESS RELEASE –
PEOPLE V PATRICK LONG
Press Release
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR WALLET IS LOST OR STOLEN
While you’re
struggling at the mall with bags of presents, identity thieves see an
opportunity to steal your wallet and debit or credit card numbers.
According to the
Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer Affairs, there are 5
steps consumers should take, the first of which should be done NOW before
anything happens: 1) Make copies of all
your credit cards, ID cards and
licenses – everything in your wallet (both sides); if the card is stolen, 2) Call the companies that issued your
credit cards. This should be done at once and you should follow up with a
letter; 3) Call the three national credit-reporting agencies and ask them
to attach a fraud alert to all your credit cards; 4) If your social security
card is missing, call the Social
Security Administration (fraud
line). Also, be sure to call the Department of Motor Vehicles, as well as any
other organizations from which you lost cards; 5) Call the police if
you were a victim of theft. You may be required to show a police report to
support your claim that a crime was committed.
Another thing you
might want to do is copy a $5.00 or $10.00 bill or write down the serial
number. If the thief throws away your
wallet but is caught with that bill we have him.
For additional
information, contact the Ulster County District Attorney’s Division of Consumer
Affairs at 340-3260.
