Hi all,
So I am just sick about this, and can't stop kicking myself about it. We were out of town over the weekend. I knew I had 3-4 days of mail in our box (we have those neighborhood cluster boxes with the keys to open). I didn't do a good job of multitasking once we got home, I was desperate to tackle all of the laundry, get the dog back from her babysitter, etc. On Monday I figured I'd stop and get the mail on my way home from picking DD up from school, well she ended up getting a ride from someone else so it was out of sight, out of mind and I didn't grab it. Tuesday morning there was a cop at my door telling me that the night before someone broke into the boxes and took EVERYONE'S mail. I am so mad at myself for not getting the mail.
Anyway, I don't think much of importance was taken, but I'm not sure! There's a chance our bank statement was taken, which is my biggest worry. I called the bank, and they assured me that nowhere on there does the entire account number appear- they x out the first half. But they have my name and address, so what if they make a fake id and go in asking for the account? I could throw up thinking of this. The cop said usually these types of crimes they are looking for new credit cards or gift cards, which we didn't have any coming. Or possibly IRS checks given the time of year, again, we don't have that coming. But who knows? I don't know how criminals work!
I wondered if it would be wise to sign up for Lifelock, at least for a while, to be on the safe side. Do any of you use it? What's been your experience?
The other question relates to the anxiety this has caused. This happened Tuesday morning, and I have thought of little else since then. Like it rolls around in my brain over and over and over. It is simply exhausting and I don't know how to make it stop! Besides the worry about what they might do with my info, the bigger thing is that I feel so stupid for not just getting the mail. It's not like I have to walk a mile for it, and I knew it was piling up. The anxiety and ruminating about wishing for a do-over is consuming my brain. Can anyone relate to that feeling? I would love to hear your stories (misery loves company right?) and would love to know how you got past it.
Thanks ladies, I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out.
We have Lifelock because we were robbed in Rome last year. Love it! We have had a couple of alerts but nothing major. I highly recommend it!!!
K.,
My very long, detailed response just got eaten up by MP again.
I do feel your pain. We are part of that Anthem breach, so all six of our family members have had our names, addresses, and "other" personal information accessed. They don't *think* our social security numbers were accessed, but of course, they can't prove that. They are offering two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection as a result.
Anyway, go to www.ftc.gov for detailed consumer information on identity theft and ways to protect yourself. You can put a temporary freeze on your credit so no one else can open credit in your name(s). You can use a company like Lifelock, but a great deal of this stuff you can do yourself, and I think if you did take this action on your own, it would go a long way to help ease your mind and decrease your anxiety over all of this.
Call your credit card companies and alert them that you've had personal information stolen. Make sure they haven't sent any new cards or statements recently. Most bank and credit card companies are switching over to flat cards (without the raised numbers, which pose a security risk), and some companies just send you the new cards even before your current card's expiration date.
Make sure your medical, home, auto, and life insurance companies haven't sent you any new cards or statements recently. Keep in mind that medical insurance identity theft is a huge problem that most people don't even realize.
If you do business with any companies, utilities, doctor or dentist offices that still send you paper statements, contact them to alert them and verify that you haven't missed a statement or bill.
In the future, stop your mail when you go out of town, even for short trips. I do it all the time online (check to be sure the online stop mail option is available in your area). I think the minimum is three days, but even if we are going away for the weekend, I still do the three-day stop, and then the PO delivers all of it to us on the fourth day.
Don't beat yourself up. This can happen to anyone, and your story is a good reminder to us all to be proactive against identity theft. Use your energies to follow up and take protections against any possible misuse of your information and identities, and you will be fine.
Wishing you the best with this.
J. F.
Stay calm, there is nothing in your mailbox with your personal information that they cant get online. They look for non traceable things like gift cards, cash and pills.
FYI: I went out today and noticed that my mailbox was run over last night and completely flattened (my driveway is 500 feet long so I didn't hear anything). Now I will have to dig a new hole and replace the broken one (again). This is what happens on country roads. :-(
The cop is right - they are looking for greeting cards (that often contain gift cards or cash), credit card offers, IRS refunds, and mail order drugs. Chances are they will discard everything else. Your bank is highly experienced in dealing with these things but you can certainly cancel your account and open a new one if you are positive that your statement was in there. You can also move the bulk of your money to a separate account for a period of 2 months or so, I imagine. I doubt they would go to the trouble of making a fake ID - that's harder to pull off than you think and it takes more time, with a high probability of getting caught (tellers recognize the "regulars", signatures won't match, etc.) plus ideally the bank has flagged your account anyway (so anyone coming in would be scrutinized). Criminals would rather steal a whole bunch of info from a lot of people or put those devices in the ATMs so they can skim a lot of accounts.
Okay, you could have checked your mailbox more often, but who's to say that one day's mail wouldn't have been taken? So it's not just the 3-4 day pile up that's the problem - it could have happened any time. There are a lot of debates about whether people should put a mail "hold" on when they go away, because others say it alerts the letter carriers that you are away. However, I think a letter carrier sees the mail piling up anyway and knows you're away, so it's moot. You can also have a neighbor pick up for you.
I understand you feel violated, but please stop beating yourself up over it. I feel the same way about houses for sale that have the key lock things hanging on the door - might as well have a sign that says "empty house a lot of the time". And don't get me started on the credit card records from all the major store chains that have been hacked - that's where there's much more danger, I think.
I usually but don't always leave lights on timers when I go away, but I do let my neighbors know, notify the police to keep an eye out on their regular patrols, and I know that one of my neighbors is a federal agent/former cop so I feel really safe knowing his trained eagle eye is on my house!
You're reported the problem, you will not be liable for any accounts opened in your name, and the bank is on alert so they are responsible if anyone does try to get into your account. You won't be on the hook for anything, I don't think.
It might be worth nothing that you can have everything switched to online. I get no statements from any bills via snail mail anymore, including banking statements.
And take it from someone who has had their purse stolen multiple times. Most of these petty crimes are looking for fast cash. Anything other than that is not of importance. Sophisticated criminals are going to have far better methods of operation to get your information aside from a mail box.
Not to make light of your situation, but I probably wouldn't even notice if someone stole my mail. If they want to sift through all the complete junk that gets put there, then they are doing me a favor (I just don't want it back when they are done!).
First, deep breath. If they have not done already, ask your bank to flag your account as possibly compromised. They can note that they need to verify your ID twice or something like that. It is true that thieves look for any cards, checks, etc and 99% of the time discard the rest. They prefer easy pickings. Federal rules actually require banks to block most of an account number. if you look at a credit card statement, only the last few digits are actually shown. Rather than pay the fees for Lifelock or other service, place a note on your credit reports. You can visit annual credit report .com to get a copy or go to the credit reports sites and get the info. You can place a note that you must be contacted before any credit can be granted. I believe it is placed for 6 months, maybe a year or you take it off in writing. I have notes on my kids' profiles so no stealing their info. If you do apply for credit at a store, you won't be able to get it because the store will get a flag that they must call you to confirm.
BTW, we had mail stolen in the past year over several months. The thief would actually follow the mailman and steal from the boxes if it was sticking out. Nothing happened but I did keep watch since.
Instead of signing up for Lifelock, which I've heard bad things about, instead, call the 3 credit reporting agencies and talk to them. They can flag your account if anyone tries to get credit in your name.
I'd go that route first...
take a deep breath, and let it out. your bank is aware of the potential problem, and that's the main thing. the crooks were almost certainly looking for quick and easy cash. it's possible they'll try to pursue it, but sensible precautions (advising your credit card company and the credit reporting agencies) will foil them.
lifelock is tempting. after my debit card was stolen and taken for a shopping spree, i checked 'em out thoroughly but decided against them. there's so much they DON'T cover. if you are vigilant about checking your bank and credit card accounts, and keep an eye on your credit reports, you can do everything lifelock can do and not spend money on their fees.
you didn't do anything wrong. you were robbed. that's not your fault.
khairete
S.
