Scams that steal your identity are prevalent. When I first wrote on this topic in the late 1990's very few people knew what I was talking about. Identity theft was not the buzz word that it is today.

I'd like to give you advice regarding calls from your credit card provider. Sure, they monitor your account and there are legitimate inquiries regarding your usage. They hopefully do call when you have excessive activity or what is perceived as unusual activity. For instance, we recently lost our 21 year old son in a motorcycle accident on Highway 621. My wife wanted the support of close relatives who lived in California. Many of them could not afford to fly to Louisiana. The same was true of several close friends who wished to be here. God has blessed us so I used our credit card to purchase 21 airline tickets. As a side note I did so knowing I'd pay the bill in full which is the only way I'd use my credit card. That's a topic for future discussion. The credit card company called that very night as purchasing 21 airline tickets for 21 different people is not typical activity. I was glad to receive their call even though I was quite distracted by the tragic loss we were dealing with.

When your credit card company calls they have your information. They know you. They have your birth date, social security card number, mother's maiden name and more. They don't need to ask you to confirm anything they don't already have in their records. If you're calling them, it's a different matter as they need to ask questions to confirm you are their customer.

If you get a call from someone reporting to be your credit card provider and they ask you for information, beware. I've had such calls and I ask them to tell me the information and I'll confirm the accuracy. This has occurred twice in the past couple years and they hung up both times.

A current scam consists of a caller asking you if you purchased an item from an Arizona company that the caller knows full well you did not purchase. The caller says he represents your credit card provider. When he asks about the Arizona purchase you say, "No", and at this point you probably are glad that your credit card provider caught this "suspicious" activity which you didn't authorize.

The scam is now revealed. The caller says he has your credit card number, which he indeed does, and merely needs one piece of information to "verify that you are the possessor of the card". He asks you to read the last three numbers on the back of your card where the signature strip is. He even explains that there are seven numbers on the back, but he only needs to verify the last three with you. Of course, this is just what he needs to make purchases on the Internet or by phone. This is the missing link he needs to rip you off.

If someone is calling you, even if they give all indications that they are your provider, don't volunteer ANY information. Let them tell you information they should already have and you may confirm it. You may also ask for their number and call them back. Once when I did this the caller hung up.