The dirtbags that broke into our home stole our personal laptop. Like many other digitized individuals, we stored a lot of personal info on that piece of equipment. While hopeful these criminals just wanted the hardware for cash, we were realistic about protecting our identity.
If you suspect any of your personal info has been compromised during a burglary, act quickly.
#1: Call your bank where you have your checking and savings accounts. Essentially where you have accounts that house easily accessible cash (your IRAs, 401 accts, etc, we'll talk about those later in this post). Let them know your info has been compromised. You will usually be transferred to a Fraud Department that will help you close the compromised accounts and setup new ones. This dept will also flag and monitor your accounts/profile for unusual activity. You will have to transfer any automatic payments or direct deposits. IMPORTANT: ask to have a verbal password placed on your accounts/profile that will be prompted anytime you call the bank.
#2: Freeze your credit or place a fraud alert on your credit. A fraud alert is usually good for 90 days and requires the company obtaining the credit report to ask the applicant several additional verfication questions. Freezing your credit means your report is on lockdown. You can only unlock it by a unique password or a written request - depending on the reporting agency. Since we're not planning on getting a loan or applying for credit, we decided to freeze one and place a fraud alert on the other in case we need it for any random reason. We paid $10 per agency to freeze (small price to pay for a little peace of mind) and the fraud alert was free. Actually, the fee to freeze can be waived if you provide a police report. I think that takes too much time because you have to request the report, wait for approval from law enforcement for release of the report, then snail mail in your freeze request with the copy of the police report. Like I said, $10 is a small price to pay. You can also consider a credit monitoring service that charges a monthly fee to alert you anytime your credit is accessed.
#3: If you auto-save passwords (e.g. on your browser and your laptop was stolen), go to a trusted friend's or relative's house to borrow a computer. Start logging into your various accounts and change the passwords. Add additional security questions while you're at it.
#4: For finanical accounts where cash is a little more difficult to access, call in and let them know your personal data has been compromised. For brokerage or retirement accounts, ask if they have a "no funds out" restriction. This still allows you to trade but funds cannot be transferred out unless written instructions are provided. Several institutions can also place a verbal password prompt as mentioned earlier.
#5: Monitor your accounts regularly. With online/telephone/mobile banking, check your bank accounts (checking, savings) at least weekly. Truthfully, I recommend you check them every day at first, then migrate to every other day, and then weekly. The day after the burglary, the crooks tried to access my accounts online.
It's no easy task to protect one's identity. I'm even a bit exhausted writing this post - basically re-living the steps we took after the burglary. However, the tasks are well worth the peace of mind.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wanted: Nosy Neighbors
A neighbor across the street saw the vehicle the burglars were driving. She saw it drive around the block 3x. That's right, THREE times. The statement she gave police - she saw two guys...noticed one running away from our house (not out of the house but away from the house)...and then speed off.
Get this: She didn't call the police.
Frak. Let me get this right. She didn't call the police. She saw them drive around the block 3x. She saw them running away from the house. She saw them speed off. She didn't call the police.
Her mother was also in the front yard at the time. She too witnessed ALL of this but didn't think to call the police. She said, "I wasn't sure if it was someone you knew." Frak.
Serendipity for these criminals that our least nosy neighbor was the only one outside that early evening. Everyone else on our street is ALL in our business and would have found that activity suspicious in a heartbeat. Our burglary was the first on our street in 25 years.
A nosy neighbor can be the most effective solution to stopping a burglary or catching a burglar. You want nosy neighbors. I'll even say you want very nosy and not just kinda sorta nosy. Kinda sorta isn't likely to take action when it's most needed.
Get this: She didn't call the police.
Frak. Let me get this right. She didn't call the police. She saw them drive around the block 3x. She saw them running away from the house. She saw them speed off. She didn't call the police.
Her mother was also in the front yard at the time. She too witnessed ALL of this but didn't think to call the police. She said, "I wasn't sure if it was someone you knew." Frak.
Serendipity for these criminals that our least nosy neighbor was the only one outside that early evening. Everyone else on our street is ALL in our business and would have found that activity suspicious in a heartbeat. Our burglary was the first on our street in 25 years.
A nosy neighbor can be the most effective solution to stopping a burglary or catching a burglar. You want nosy neighbors. I'll even say you want very nosy and not just kinda sorta nosy. Kinda sorta isn't likely to take action when it's most needed.
Sheriff or Local Police?
If your neighborhood is served by a local police department, you're likely to have a faster response time if you call 9-1-1. The county sheriffs have a much larger jurisdiction than your local PD. As a result, they might not get to you as soon as local officers would.
When we called 9-1-1 that evening, the police arrived within a few minutes. Literally, 3-4 minutes. We're very glad our PD responded so quickly. I've heard a few cases from others who have experienced a burglary that law enforcement took 20 minutes...even 2 hours to appear. Ouch. Fail.
While you can't really do much about which law enforcement body serves your community, it's something to consider if you're planning to move or if you're buying a home.
When we called 9-1-1 that evening, the police arrived within a few minutes. Literally, 3-4 minutes. We're very glad our PD responded so quickly. I've heard a few cases from others who have experienced a burglary that law enforcement took 20 minutes...even 2 hours to appear. Ouch. Fail.
While you can't really do much about which law enforcement body serves your community, it's something to consider if you're planning to move or if you're buying a home.
Don't Touch Anything
I didn't think about fingerprints the second I realized our home had been burglarized. The sheer panic racing through my veins led me to check places within the home where we keep a few valuables. It was my husband's quick sense of reason that broke through the cloud of emotion saying, "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING."
Hopefully, the police will get good, clean fingerprints of the theives. In many cases, these criminals are repeat offenders. If good prints are obtained and the burglars are repeats, they'll be in the system. If they're not currently in the system and they get caught later on (for this crime or another), they'll be matched to the print(s) left in your home.
A tip from a cop: keep your furniture/countertops/etc. as dust-free as possible. Clean, shiny surfaces capture much better fingerprints than dusty, not-so-clean areas.
Hopefully, the police will get good, clean fingerprints of the theives. In many cases, these criminals are repeat offenders. If good prints are obtained and the burglars are repeats, they'll be in the system. If they're not currently in the system and they get caught later on (for this crime or another), they'll be matched to the print(s) left in your home.
A tip from a cop: keep your furniture/countertops/etc. as dust-free as possible. Clean, shiny surfaces capture much better fingerprints than dusty, not-so-clean areas.
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