Compromised personal data...how do I proactively protect myself?

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

My briefcase was stolen on Monday-1:00 am from the W Hotel in Austin. Fortunately my phone was in my pocket and my laptop was in my hotel, but the thieves got my wallet with $100 cash, glasses, diabetes kit/insulin, work notebook, misc items. I immediately cancelled all of my credit cards after I noticed it was missing, but the little asshats had already chared a $30 cab ride and $243 at 7-11 (how does one buy that much from that store?)

 

Although my SSN wasn't listed anywhere and my driver's license had our WA address, my insurance cards probably had my home address.

 

Now it gets weird...I got a call on Tuesday from the perp who said "his buddies" felt remorse after they sobered up and wanted to return everything to me and make it right. I have him on voice mail admitting guilt. I spoke with him during my flight layover and told him I wanted everything returned to me via UPS or FedEx. I wanted him to call with a tracking number. I wanted him to put cash in an envelope equal to what they spent on my credit card. If he did these things and returned EVERYTHING that was in the bag, then I would consider not pressing this further. At the moment there is a 7 lb package coming via UPS and should deliver on Monday.

 

I called the Austin PD and got a case number right after I canceled my credit cards. I'm on the fence about taking this further because I did stupid stuff when I was a kid, although I never stole anything more than a candy bar.

 

The insulin thing was a bit of a problem...when I got my spare kit at home I was over 400.

 

Mostly I'm concerned about identity theft and protecting my credit rating. Any ideas? Can I put an alert on my record with the big three reporting agencies?

 

Thanks,

[jmseattle]

My credit cards and bank acct all got hacked earlier this year. No idea how anyone got those numbers all at once. After notifying/cancelling all cc numbers and bank, put a fraud alert on at one of the "big three" credit reporting companies so no one could open new credit using my identity. As I recall, putting it on with one of the big three automatically extends it to all three. Lasts 90 days unless extended and can be done online. Will prevent even you from opening new credit during that time without going through some extra hoops but worth the peace of mind. You can also order your annual entitlement of a free credit report to see if any unusual activity. Do this before triggering the fraud alert as you are blocked once you set the alert.

 

[Kathy R]

Personally, I would notify all three of the credit bureaus and have a blurb added to your credit report stating that your wallet was stolen on (date). From what I recall, these are the names of the big three. In my experience in the mortgage industry I found that they don't always transfer information between one another.

 

Transunion

Experian

Equifax

 

 

Best of luck.

 

IMHO

I'd give every piece of information I had to the police and ask them to make arrests and prosecute. I'd leave the sentence up to the law and a judge. Who knows how old they are? Who knows if they'll do this again? Who knows if each of the people involved are all sorry for what they did to you? I, for one, don't care.

 

I don't feel that what they did was a child like prank. It was theft when they stole your bag and theft again when they fraudulently used your credit card. To do either of those things requires more than child like foolishness. And if they blame it on alcohol I am reminded of the saying; What is done while drunk is often thought of beforehand

 

 

Just found this list of what to do...

[MT Wallet]

+1 to the previous opinions. I'd change everything that you can of the items stolen. New creditcards etc. I think that is a terrible personal violation of your privacy. It shows us as vulnerable victims. I had an apartment broken into some years ago and I was more than willing to go back to Denver and testify against the little gangbanger S.O.B. Now, having said that, I would have been vulnerable to retaliation because they could find me and I'd have no clue who of his buds might be targeting me. I'd still, knowing that, would have pushed it as far as I could with the prosecutor. Being drunk and having sober remorse isn't a "get out of jail free card." IMO People need to stand up to jerks and punks who would think this was funny or acceptable. Money can be replaced but your peace of mind has been damaged.

[DaveTheAffable]

Have someone you don't like open the package while you stand a lonnnnnnnng ways away...

I mean... I'm just sayin'.

 

[Joel]

One thing I've done to try to minimize the chance of identity theft is to quit carrying a conventional wallet. I found that most of the times I had misplaced my wallet, leaving it exposed to roving eyes or hands, was because its bulk occasionally became a nuisance and I'd choose to take it out of my pocket for whatever reason and then drop it, forget it, etc. Now I use a money clip that holds a few bills and a few cards. It fits comfortably in a front pocket so I don't have to sit on it and I almost never think of stowing it elsewhere. Most other info that was in my wallet is stored in a password keeper app, or Keyring, on my phone.

 

I'm ambivalent about what to do about the perps. On the one hand, drunk (or temporarily mischievous) or not, theft is a crime and this one put you in a bad spot, particularly on the risk to your health. I think the miscreants should bear the consequences of their actions. My theory is that we'd have less of this type of crime, and maybe less crime overall, if we didn't tolerate so much of it, particularly among youths. On the other hand, my viewpoint on prosecution and deterrence doesn't seem to be shared by law enforcement. In my experience, they have cared very little about pursuing what they consider to be minor property crimes, even to the point of being resentful at taking a report or saying "Well, that's what you get for having something like that." So, even if you did decide that you wanted to jack them up, there's a good chance that nothing would come of it, particularly if you got back most, if not all, of what was stolen.

 

At least someone seemed to have some conscience about what they did. Maybe there's some consolation in that.

[notacop]

Sharia Law. Off with their hands. Being stupid , off with their heads. "Just saying", off with your wit.

[Natche]

Keep us posted on what's in the package.

[bmw_rider]

My credit cards and bank acct all got hacked earlier this year. No idea how anyone got those numbers all at once. After notifying/cancelling all cc numbers and bank, put a fraud alert on at one of the "big three" credit reporting companies so no one could open new credit using my identity. As I recall, putting it on with one of the big three automatically extends it to all three. Lasts 90 days unless extended and can be done online. Will prevent even you from opening new credit during that time without going through some extra hoops but worth the peace of mind. You can also order your annual entitlement of a free credit report to see if any unusual activity. Do this before triggering the fraud alert as you are blocked once you set the alert.

Great sound advice! You can additionally ask the reporting companies to extend the fraud alert for one year- generally with no charge provided you have the police report. Now isn't a great time for you to shop for new credit card issuer however as you will likely find a great deal more scrutiny involved in the approval process.

Personally, I'd take the package to the police department to open it. And let them use it as further evidence to hopefully convict the criminals.

 

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

I received my bag back via UPS this morning. In it was nearly everything they took, and all of the important items. There was also a nice, hand written apology letter. I think at this point my plan of action is to call the Austin police and tell them that I have additional information, that my items were returned and that I'm not interested in pressing charges. I think it's important that the info is "in the system" but I also realize that there are bigger fish to fry. However, if this is a behavior pattern for this young man, maybe this should be the final straw before incarceration.

 

I have started the 90-day fraud alert process with TransUnion (thanks Kathy!)

[Glenn Reed]

I received my bag back via UPS this morning. In it was nearly everything they took, and all of the important items. There was also a nice, hand written apology letter. I think at this point my plan of action is to call the Austin police and tell them that I have additional information, that my items were returned and that I'm not interested in pressing charges. I think it's important that the info is "in the system" but I also realize that there are bigger fish to fry. However, if this is a behavior pattern for this young man, maybe this should be the final straw before incarceration.

 

I have started the 90-day fraud alert process with TransUnion (thanks Kathy!)

 

Personally, I agree with this plan. The perpetrator has demonstrated remorse, and made amends. (I think I'm quoting something, but that's not the intent.) By not moving forward with the charges, you are providing positive feedback to that set of behaviors, and hopefully this perp will move forward.

 

My $.02

[Kathy R]

I received my bag back via UPS this morning. In it was nearly everything they took, and all of the important items. There was also a nice, hand written apology letter. I think at this point my plan of action is to call the Austin police and tell them that I have additional information, that my items were returned and that I'm not interested in pressing charges. I think it's important that the info is "in the system" but I also realize that there are bigger fish to fry. However, if this is a behavior pattern for this young man, maybe this should be the final straw before incarceration.

 

I have started the 90-day fraud alert process with TransUnion (thanks Kathy!)

 

I'm glad you are OK and glad that you are OK with it all, as it has ended. I'm a little meaner

 

Don't hesitate to also contact the other two bureaus. If a creditor pulls your credit report from only 1 of the 3 they may not see your alert.

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

Transunion states that law requires them to share my alert with the other companies. But after allowing them to share, I'll verify with all of them.

[bmw_rider]

Glad it turned out that well. Still what a hassle to go through so far.

I'd still reach out to your credit card companies directly, tell them what happened, and follow their recommendation for best course of action.