Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/741858
5 Steps to Prevent Identity Theft ere are numerous steps that you can easily take to cut down substantially on the chances of identity the. If at all possible, do all of these. If not, the more steps you take, the better your chances of escaping an incident of identity the: 1 Use a credit card, especially for new or unknown vendors as opposed to a debit card, check, or cash. While this step may not prevent the occurrence of identity the or fraud, it can definitely reduce your legal exposure. If a fraudulent purchase is made on a bank credit card, the bank or credit card company will reverse the fraudulent charge — very oen with a few if any questions. With a debit card, the bank very oen will limit its exposure to, say, the first $100 or $200. us, if they cover only the first $200, and you have a fraudulent charge of $500, you will likely be out of pocket to the tune of $300! If this same purchase had been made using a credit card rather than a debit card, your exposure would have been zero. 2 Check mail regularly, and shred credit card offers especially. Again, being away for extended periods gives rise rise to those pre-approved credit card offers lied from your mailbox by an individual with less- than-honorable intentions. A kid on a bike can clean out at least seven or eight mailboxes in less than two minutes. 3 Review credit card statements and bank statements for charges and expenses as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for unusual or unexpected charges on cards. A familiar M.O. is for a perpetrator to charge a very small amount on a card initially, possibly no more than a couple of bucks. If that charge is not challenged, he or she then charges a larger amount, and then a larger one. We've seen instances when cards would be charged several hundred dollars, month aer month. Numerous statistics indicate that 40 percent of cardholders do not examine their monthly statements. And over 70 percent of those do not pay the card balance in full each month. You know the industry You know the people Get to know landstar Landstar agents provide sales and operations functions for their clients. Landstar provides the tools and fi nancial backing you need to succeed. • No limits to what you can earn • Freedom to set your priorities • Support to help you succeed To learn more about becoming an independent Landstar Agent, call us today. 888-949-2880 www.landstar.com Follow us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/landstar continued on page 24 Vo l . 1 0 , N o . 6 TRUCKSTOP.COM 19