Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: I lost my change purse that had my license, social security card and insurance card in it. I am very concerned that someone will “steal my identity” and ruin my credit. If someone opens accounts in my name do I have to pay those bills? What do I do?
Susan
Florence, AL
A: First, get your credit report. You can get one free credit report a year through AnnualCreditReport.com and make sure that no one has established any accounts that do not belong to you.
Remember that banks are required to recognize your signature and not pay a check that has been forged. BUT, you are required to go over your monthly statement and notify the bank quickly for them to be required to put the money back in your account. You also have to promise to prosecute the person who stole the money and you really only get to invoke this protection one time. If someone you allow in your house on a regular basis has stolen a check, the law is that the bank is only liable the first time. After you know that someone who comes in your house that has stolen a check, it is your responsibility to make sure they do not steal checks and it is also your responsibility to pay for the checks if they do steal them.
Look over your credit card statements carefully to make sure no unauthorized charges have been made.
I like the idea of a company like Lifelock that monitors your credit. They have different programs at different costs that monitor your credit and notify you if someone opens a new account in your name. I recently looked into this for a client and the top level of service was $349.00 a year and it was payable monthly if you so chose.
My advice would be to hire a company such as Lifelock to monitor your credit and help you if you had a problem. That may be expensive but it sure would help you get a good night’s sleep.
Obviously, if a credit card was stolen you would notify the credit card company immediately to freeze the credit card and hopefully help in tracking down anyone who had been using it.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-349-2529
