EXHINIT ONE--Anytime you give out such info, write a "friendly" letter to the hospital, retailer, doctor's office, etc.
Say that you know the range of crimes that are committed using such info.......list the crimes.
That if you become a victim of financial crimes, ID theft, and so on.......you will use every means at your disposal--including litigation, public exposure, license challenges, oversight agency mobilization----in order to obtain justice.
COPY THE FILE, YOUR LAWYER, THE FBI, FTC ID THEFT CLEARINGHOUSE, ETC.
At the top of the letter note in bold letters: "This is a paper trail."
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EXHIBIT TWO--When you contact a bank, credit card office, or other finance-related entity----before you discuss anything, do this:
Get the name and employee number of the phone person accessing your account;
Get the name of their immediate supervisor;
Tell them you are time-dating the phone call; AKA a paper trail;
Tell them you are copying your lawyer.
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To report suspected irregularities WRT ID theft, contact:
Federal Trade Commission
(Solicits reports to assist ID theft investigations)
web site ftc.gov/idtheft
Tele 1-677-438-4338
SNAIL MAIL
FTC
ID Theft Clearinghouse
Washington, DC 20580
Thanks for the information, Liz.
I reported it to the police, the FTC, the credit bureaus, and the bank involved.
The rest of the information you gave, though, sounds like very good advice. Those sound like suggestions for all of us to keep in mind from now on.