Sunday, August 7, 2011

Identity Theft

Today's Post:
     Identity theft is one of those things that one never thinks it is going to happen to them yet it can happen to anyone for the simplest of mistakes.  With your log in information someone can access your facebook profile and mess with your account or with a lost or stolen credit card, someone can incur charges on your account and make you lose your savings in an instant.  Losing your wallet or purse is also a way your identity can get stolen and this is the headache I've had to deal with in the past few days.

The Story:
     Earlier in the week, my mother went out with a friend of hers to get something to eat after a day of shopping so they can unwind and relax.  Soon after they left the restaurant, my mother realized that she had left her purse inside and went back to grab it.  The purse at that point wasn't at the table and the table was being cleaned by one of the employees there.  My mother asked if he had seen her purse behind and he said he hadn't seen it.  She searched left and right for the purse inside the restaurant to no avail.  It seemed strange because they had only been gone from the restaurant for about 3 minutes and the place seemed to be empty.  The waiter did note however that there was a group of people who were sitting behind their booth and that they might have taken.  Thats when it dawned on my mother that her purse was now in the hands of someone else.

     In the purse she had her cell phone, car keys, credit cards, I.D. card, and cash and that was all gone now.  For an hour and a half straight she called her cell phone in the hopes of someone picking up.  She made me and my older brother do the same as well.  We had to keep calling the restaurant back just in case they had found the purse but they never did find it.  We called the cell phone in my moms purse and sent text messages asking for the return of the purse if it was found or at the very least some of the belongings but we never got any response from them either.  At the end of the second hour we decided to quit attempting to retrieve it and just call it quits.  At this point we were really dreading what was up ahead of us.


     We had to call a lot of places in order to help protect ourselves from identity theft.  First and foremost we had to call the bank to cancel the credit cards.  Along with that we had to cancel all of her store credit cards like her Macy's card, Sears card, and JC Penny card as well.  We had to call Kaiser permanente and tell them that her insurance card had been stolen land needed to get a new one reissued.  The car insurance company also had to be called since her car keys were stolen and we had to get her locks and alarm changed.  Since her house keys were stolen I also had to change the deadbolt and locks on the house.  Lastly we had to file a police report for all that was stolen and to see if they can help us out with the stolen purse.

Conclusion:
     This was all a headache and it took more than just one day to fix.  My mother still has to go to the DMV to get a new license.  The car also has to go to the dealership and have its locks changed and we still have to deal with the insurance company later on.  A new cell phone has to also get ordered still as soon as her insurance goes through with it as well.  Luckily for us no one used any of the credit cards that were in the purse or used the cell phone to make long distance calls.  This has been a huge headache for my mom and for me as well and its something that could have been prevented.  Always be cautious of your possessions when you are out and chances are this wont happen to you.

Comments:
     Have you guys ever lost your wallets/purses before?  Has something been stolen from you before?  For example, my older brother once had his car broken into and they took the car stereo.  We were in a fairly decent neighborhood as well so we didn't really expect it.

6 comments:

  1. Identity theft is the absolutely worst. I hate thieves in general, but someone that screws with your credit info... those criminals need to be locked up for life. Luckily for me, I've never gone through this, but I've had friends that unfortunately had people steal their info, and almost ruin their credit.

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  2. A friend of mine made the mistake of using the same password on nearly every website he visited. Someone else somehow got access to that password, and was able to basically take over his life via the internet. Luckily nothing important was accessed (bank account etc.). Even so, it caused a huge amount of pain for him as he had to basically restart his online presence.

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  3. Ach...naw, but my social security card disappeared recently. I know that it's somewhere in my storage shed, but I can't find it no matter where I look.

    While I need it to get a new job (which I WOULD HAVE HAD if I had my card~!), I may still have to get a new number simply due to my paranoia.

    I mean I know what kind of damage >I< could wreak (not that I would, but it's the principle) with a simple SS card, and I also know (intellectually speakin', I've never committed a crime harder than beating a guy down for dissin' my momma) what to do with credit cards and other nonsuch in order to maximize what you get from them.

    I HAVE come across such cards before though (of all kinds~!) and I usually mail them back to the owners using whatever information is handy, or just give it to the cops.

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  4. I know a guy who lives pretty much alone in the woods. He constantly gets his mail stolen and credit cards issued in his name, stuff delivered to his door that he didn't order etc. No neighbors so people can do pretty much whatever they want with his address when he's at work. It's a real bitch.

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  5. Once I let my husband borrow my credit card. He forgot and left it in our van in a visible spot and our car got broken into. Luckily our van didn't get stolen, but I'm not surprised because it was a piece. By the time I realized it they had taken used my credit card at a Quickie mart, at a Chevron and at MY WORK. The funny thing was my aunt was working at the time my credit card was used... They ended up only using about $200 which I got back a few months later.

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  6. Man that sucks. I have so far never been a victim, and I hope to keep it that way.

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