My Private Hell with Identity Theft
Posted: Saturday, May 09, 2009
by Dave Dozier
Identity theft was something that I had heard about, and that I had always been careful to protect myself against. Identity theft was something that happened to other people, not to me.
Until this week, that is.
Wednesday morning I checked my bank accounts online. I did this periodically as a precautionary habit. I was shocked to see our joint checking account much lower than it should have been. Frantically searching to discover the reason, I noticed five checks for unusually large amounts written in the last week. I pulled up images of the checks and realized that the signatures on the checks did not belong to my wife or me. Yet we did not have any checkbooks missing.
Thankfully, the bank is in the process of reimbursing our money. I will have years of inconvenience in the form of nasty letters, phone calls, and other hassles from merchants who cashed the forged checks with my name and license number. I am told that it may be years before I can cash a check with a merchant, because my name and license number are now on a black list in cyberspace.
But how did the thief get all of this information? Not just my name, but that of my wife, plus our address, account number, routing number, and my license number? At this point, our best guess is that an employee in a store where I wrote a check made a copy. If fact, if you look at the real and fake checks, you will see very little difference. The fake checks have all of the important information correct, but they lack the bank's logo.
What is the moral of this story? How could we have better protected ourselves? Also, what should you do if you find yourself the victim of identity theft?
- Use your computer to keep up with your bank accounts daily. I checked my account on Sunday evening. Five fraudulent checks cleared my bank before I checked the account again and subsequently alerted the bank on Wednesday morning.
- Be especially careful about writing checks with merchants.
- Shred your canceled checks, or go to an electronic statement.
- Notify both the bank and police if this happens. You will be given a case number and paperwork to get the bloodhounds off of your back and to protect your credit.
An interesting aside is the difference in perspective between the bank and the police. The bank people blame the merchants who cashed these fake checks, even though the perpetrator had my license number (presumably a fake license). The police, on the other hand, are focused on the thief. It seems to me that the merchants are, at least in my case, as much a victim as I am. How will merchants protect themselves, if thieves are this sophisticated? Will we have a future id verification that involves retina scanning, as in "The Minority Report", or a microchip under our skin? 666, here we come!
My guess is that I will learn more about the horrors of identity theft in the coming days. I will share more as that happens.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Great article. Well done.What a shock... I would be almost paranoid if that happened to me. I shall take note of your advice.
Sorry to hear this story, Dave. As a small business owner I can vouch for the fact that the businesses which have taken these fake checks are the ones who lose the most money. There's got to be a better way, short of taking The Mark. Keep up the great writing!
Hi Dave, a good but horrifying story. I'm happy that you got it stopped quickly and your bank is refunding the loss.I have begun doing about 95% of my banking online and the rest by debit card. I don't know, that may be just as risky but I have always worried about my checkswith my driver license number on them. I once had my social security number imprinted on my check until so many people advised me that was just asking for trouble.Your article is full of good advice, thanks for sharing.
Dave,Great article inspite of the circumstances. I pray that you are restored 100 fold on every level spiritually, mentally, and physically. Thanks for sharing and look forward to a hearing a contiuned positive outcome.Sincerely,L. Jones
I had a similar experience Dave. A man had stolen cheques (one of which was ours) from a drop off box. He had our address and all of our banking information. He watched my routine and knew I did all the banking which made it easy for him to go to the bank as my husband, and withdraw the money in our chequing account. My husband had to go to the bank to be identified and to verify his signature, and they then knew the man that had withdrawn the money was not who he said he was. Luckily, like in your case, the bank refunded our money. You list some good points to avoid identity fraud. I hope your readers take note. Thanks!
Dave, great article but if we stop to look at your theft and everyone else impacted who really gives a damn? Now before you jump I hope you will understand where I am coming from? Our supreme court just recently stated an illegal immigrant, get this, who does not know this identity belongs to someone and uses it, cannot be held liable for a felony theft, duh. Yes I guess ignorance is now an excuse under this group? Why think differently? Usury is certainly a mainstay of their beliefs, fact. Hey I don't call them republican or democrat, liberal or conservative all facades, yes fake labels for the masses to conflict over. All in my opinion mere birds of a feather. So Dave its ok, it works for them, that is the Comprehensive Immigration bunch and morality, ethics, character, well all relative to the end goal. Fact by their own hand Dave. Yes and it is a horror but once again Dave think about your experience, who really gives a damn? Not many my friend, not many.
Thanks for sharing your story and advice Dave. One other idea is to sign up for email alerts for any withdrawal or credit card charge over a specified amount. I find these emails very helpful in keeping up with any unusual activity.
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