Don't Lose Your Mind Along With Your Identity

While some people still think it’s unsafe to bank online, experts say that you have a better chance of having someone steal from you if you rely on paper checks and statements! The reason for that is that a whole month might go by before you notice unusual activity on your account. If you bank online, and if you check your balances frequently, you’ll notice when something doesn’t look right. I can now vouch for this with personal experience! 

 

The first thing I do every morning is check my bank account online. One of the reasons I do this is because I only use a debit card and I like to download any transactions right away so my register on MS Money is always updated.

 

One day last week I logged in and discovered a check pending for $987. It didn’t look familiar to me, and in researching it, I learned that this check had been written to Wal-Mart in

Lafayette

,

Louisiana

. I live in

Houston

,

Texas

, and hadn’t been to Wal-Mart or

Louisiana

! I called the bank to report it, thinking that it was probably just a bank error and someone else’s check had been charged to my account.

 

The next day my banker called and told me I needed to come in and sign a fraud affidavit. Apparently it was not a bank error. Someone had my bank account information and she felt that if they’d written one check, they might have had a whole pad of them printed and would keep going until there was no money available in my account. 

 

I couldn’t close the account because I had a couple of checks outstanding. I transferred most of my balance to another account, and decided to watch my account over the weekend.  I then proceeded to switch my electronic payments from one account to the other. It wasn’t as time consuming as I expected it to be.

 

On Saturday morning, another check came through. A check for $1032 was written to Dillards. I could see the impression of the check, and it looked just like my checks, including my husband’s legal name with mine, and our address. The scary thing was that I could see my personal driver’s license number scrawled across the top of the check!

 

I remembered an email I had gotten from a friend just recently about what to do when your wallet is stolen. You’re supposed to call the credit bureaus to have a fraud alert added to your account. I called Experian, and was told that they would contact the other two agencies for me.

 

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 

Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

Trans 
Union: 1-800-680 7289

Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

 

Since I’m not on Social Security yet, I didn’t call this number, but it’s here for those of you who might need it.

 

At the end of the call, they offered a more secure fraud package for $14.95 a month. Looking back, I don’t think I need it, but I took it. They know that you’re scared of losing your identity and will pay anything to keep your information secure. This package does allow me to look at all of my credit bureau reports online to see if there’s anything suspicious. The agent who helped me told me it would be a good idea to take the service for a month or two, and if there’s no activity, I could always cancel it.

 

Once the bank was open on Saturday, I went in again to report the second charge. I had to fill out another affidavit. I also stopped overdraft banking on that account and had them make a note on the account stating that it had been compromised. Hopefully that will stop any future unwanted approvals.

 

When I got home, I called the sheriff’s department. Since it was Saturday, they said they’d have to have someone come to my home to take the report. I hated to take an officer away from something more important, but didn’t want to wait, either. A nice young man came out and took my report and gave me a case number. He told me if I had any more activity on my account to call and they could add it to this report.

 

The thing that puzzles me is that I rarely write a check. Most of the checks I write are for tithing at my church. The others are usually gifts to friends or family. I do everything else electronically, and the checks I write are written at home.

 

So how did someone get my information? I have no clue. No one could have photographed my check with a cell phone at the checkout lane because I always use my debit card. I didn’t lose my wallet and no checks are missing from my drawer. 

 

I did lose my wallet in

Las Vegas

about two years ago, and my driver’s license was inside. It seems crazy to think that license ended up in the hands of someone who knew how to access my checking account, but crazier things have happened. When that license had to be reissued, I wish I would have had them give me a different number. My next call will be to the Department of Transportation to check on doing that.

 

Now I have to wonder if they also have my social security number! If, by chance, this information was obtained by someone who works in the bank, they probably have it all.

 

I’ve been surprised at how many people I know have already been through this! I have told quite a few people about it, and most of them have said, “Oh, I had that happen to me one time.” Good grief! The nice officer told me that since the crooks only get a slap on the hand, if they are ever caught, they just go back out and do it again once they’re released.

 

Here are some ideas:

 

1. Always      be sure that your checks and debit cards are secure.
2. Be      careful when writing checks in public places
3. Check      your accounts online frequently
4. If you      notice unusual activity, report it immediately
5. Talk      to others and educate your friends

 

I think (and hope) that my case is a simple case of someone trying to steal what they can from my checking account. At this point I’ve seen no evidence of identity theft. Hopefully by filing all these reports and freezing my credit bureau information, that’s as far as the crooks can go. However, I am including this link so you can learn more about how to deal with identity theft – and how to prevent it.

 

Identity Theft Victim Guide http://www.fraudguides.com/consumer-id-theft-guide.asp

 

The key here is to be aware!