Good morning, folks.
It's been a while since I browsed GC, and unfortunately, there have been a few reasons.
First, my SIL is starting to grow fangs and fear sunlight from the number of blood transfusions she's required. It's par for the course with the type of cancer she has and the chemo regimen but it's still a PITA. God bless her, she's gotten to the point where she can tell the phlebotomist to take an extra tube of blood, 'cause they're going to need it for a type-and-cross later that night!
But the major thing that happened is a few weeks ago I was a victim of ID theft.
Imagine getting a phone call at 7 AM from a detective at your local police force that a woman was arrested in a town 50 miles away passing a bad check with your name, address, and drivers' license info.
That's what happened.
It freaks the sh*t out of me just thinking about it again.
Evidently, a career criminal decided that instead of finding a REAL job, she would invest in Office Depot supplies, a printer, scanner, laminator, and a subscription to a website in Anguilla that buys/collects DL info from state DMVs and sells them on the Internet. She bought access to the site, stole check routing numbers (which is a story in and of itself) then took names at random from well-heeled neighborhoods, printed up checks and passed them around. She'd been doing it for several months.
To put it mildly, I was eight shades of PISSED. I, along with a few other victims are pushing for felony ID theft charges (rather than just misdemeanor counterfeiting) to put this piece of trash away for 10+ years in the Texas State Hilton. That may or may not fly, depending on how energetic or lazy the Harris county DA's office is.
On top of this, there is paperwork to be filled out and verified so that I won't get screwed to the tune of several thousand dollars in thefts. Let's not even talk about the defenses I'm putting around my credit report either.
My situation is unusual--my IDs, wallet, and checks have never been stolen. The info came off of an offshore website that has no apologies about putting this info out there and making a profit from it. But for most people, it's simpler than that, so people: check out the article below that I got in my email, and take steps to CYA. Does it sound inconvenient? I assure you it's nothing compared to the inconvenience of prosecuting a court case.
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WAYS TO COUNTER IDENTITY THEFT
Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it
someday. Hopefully you will never have to refer to it!!
A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:
* The next time you order checks, have only your initials (instead of first
name) and last name put on them.
* If someone takes your check book, they will not know if you sign your
checks with just your initials or your first name but your bank will know
how you sign your checks.
* When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT
put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the
last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number and
anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check
processing channels won't have access to it.
* Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you
have a PO Box, use that instead of your home o Never have your SS # printed
on your checks (DUH!) you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it
printed, anyone can get it.
* Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both sides
of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your
wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.
* Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my
passport when I travel either here or abroad.
* We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in
stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my wallet
was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive
monthly cell phone package, applied for a credit card, had a credit line
approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to
change my driving record information online, and more.
But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this
happens to you or someone you know:
We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the
key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know
whom to call. Keep those where you can find them easily.
* File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was stolen,
this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step
toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important: (I never even thought to do this).
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place
a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of
doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application
for credit was made over the Internet in my name.
The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information
was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all
the damage had been done.
There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves'
purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then,
no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away
this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them in their
tracks.
The numbers are:
* Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
* Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
* Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
* Social Security Administration (fraudline): 1-800-269-0271
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Be well and stay safe, everyone.....
Adrienne (A PNAM ready to go to full-scale war.....)
Don't Let This Happen To You!!!
Thank you for sharing your experience and thanks for posting the tips! Everyone should be prepared just in case.
about it. this was almost 2 yrs ago.....
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