| BUSINESS NOTES New E-Discovery Rules: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were recently changed to clear up confusion concerning the discovery of electronic documents in litigation. The new rules place new requirements on business owners concerning data retention and production. If you don’t have an organized data retention and backup plan you should probably talk to your attorney and MIS consultant about developing one that will protect you. Read more about it here: http://www.okbar.org/obj/articles_06/110406green.htm Employment Discrimination Cases in State Court: Last July, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the public policy exception to Oklahoma’s employment at will doctrine could include acts for which there is also a federal remedy. This is major change in employment law doctrine that will make employment discrimination cases much easier to bring in Oklahoma. Employers should be aware that employment discrimination disputes that were not litigated in the past because of the expense and other problems involved in pursuing a federal case may now be filed more easily in state court. Read more about it here: http://www.okbar.org/obj/articles07/011307hammons.htm. |
IDENTITY THEFT
Identity theft is perhaps the fastest growing crime in the United States. The ease with which banking funds can be accessed and new credit established with a few key pieces of personal information has led to a tidal wave of identity related crimes. However, a few common sense precautions can greatly reduce your chances of random identity theft.
Mail:
One of the ways that thieves can steal your identity information is through your mail. Bank statements, credit card statement
s and even junk mail all contain key financial and personal information about you. You should never allow your mail to accumulate in the box. If you are not at home to recover the mail as soon as it arrives, you should either install a through the door mail slot or rent a P.O. Box. Never, ever, ever, put your monthly bill payments in the mail box and raise the red flag to let the postman know you have outgoing mail. That is a red flag for thieves to steal the checks, “wash” them and change the pay-to party and the amount payable. You should always either hand your bills to the postman or place them in the nearest mail drop box in your neighborhood. Also, small businesses should never leave the outgoing mail sitting on the counter for the postman. The outgoing mail should be kept out of sight from customers and either handed directly to the postman or placed in a mail drop box at the end of the day.
Checks:
You should never have blank checks sent to your home mailbox unless you will be there to meet the mailman. Otherwise, have them sent to your bank for pickup. A stolen box of blank checks with your address and account information is a gold mine for an identity thief. Never, ever, ever have your social security number printed on the check. Always use a “gel” pen when writing checks. Gel pens use an ink which actually eats into the paper and makes “check washing” much more difficult. “Check washing” is a method used by criminals to remove certain information from the face of the check and replace it with their own. The “check washer” will typically use normal household cleaning solutions to remove the pay-to and amount payable from a stolen check written with a standard ball point pen. They will then copy your handwriting and make the check payable to themselves usually in a much larger amount.
Trash:
You should buy a shredder and use it. Never put discarded mail, even junk mail, or personal papers in your trash unless they have been shredded. Identity thieves frequently drive through neighborhoods and go through the trash. If they find a discarded credit card application, they can typically find enough information in the trash combined with your street address to allow them to apply for credit in your name. Discarded “convenience checks” from your credit card company are a gold mine to the identity thief. Shred everything that has your name or any personal information on it. Shred all of your discarded mail.
ATM’s and Bank Transactions:
Be very wary of people standing close to you at an ATM or a bank counter where you are filling out deposit 
slips, etc. Modern cell phones can be used to take pictures of the transaction you are working on at the counter and thus give the identity thief your account number, some personal information and maybe even an example of your signature. The video function on a cell phone can be used to record the PIN number you enter at an ATM. The thief first records the PIN number and then steals yours purse or wallet as you leave. With the ATM card and the PIN number they can empty your bank accounts in seconds.
The Internet:
There are so many opportunities to steal personal information on the internet that I won’t even try to get into them all. Just remember, your bank or your creditors will never ask you for personal information online. They already have it and will contact you by phone or mail. Any request you receive for personal or financial information online is probably a scam.
Identity theft is a frightening and costly experience. We should all be careful how we handle our personal information because it is extremely valuable to people who want to misuse it.