Credit Card Fraud

Your Aug. 12 article on the nabbing of credit card counterfeiter Dalton Backus by the Secret Service points out that Southern California is one of the centers of this type of crime. As the article states, the confiscation of counterfeit credit cards and stolen credit card numbers saved the industry $169 million.

There’s another aspect of this crime that deserves attention: What happens to those individuals whose names and account numbers are used for fraudulent credit card purchases? These victims usually end up with bad credit reports and the time-consuming task of regaining their financial health. Many victims do not know someone else has been on a buying spree in their name until they apply for a car or home loan--and get turned down because of their poor credit rating.

Your readers might be interested in the free guide “Coping With Identity Theft: What to Do When an Impostor Strikes?” It’s available from the nonprofit consumer education project the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, administered by the University of San Diego School of Law, at telephone number (800) 773-7748.

BETH GIVENS, Project Director

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

San Diego