Stop THIEF!!!!!

Identity theft…two words that strike fear, and make us all clutch our wallets and purses a little closer (as if that does any good…).  I found out yesterday that it’s happened to me. 

I received an envelope from a bank at which I have a savings account, but with which I haven’t done anything for several years.  I actually thought it was “junk mail”, and tossed it in a stack of stuff to look at “later”.  I was paying bills, and decided to see what it was.  Glad I did, because it was a letter notifying me that activity had recently been transacted.  They were writing to see if I had made any recent withdrawals from my account.

 

I called the bank, and learned that SEVERAL transactions had transpired, and the account now had a negative balance, due to monthly fees.  I assured the bank that it wasn’t me, and that I HADN’T been at a branch on one day in St. Paul, during which half the money was withdrawn, and that I HADN’T been at a branch the next day in downtown Minneapolis to withdraw the remainder of the money from the account.

The person who WAS at both locations had an ID with MY NAME on it, and signed MY NAME to withdraw the money (insert expletive here).  Not sure how this account reached anyone’s radar…it’s not an active account, and I haven’t done anything with the money in the account for several years.

 

So now I’ve contacted the Federal Trade Commission to report a possible case of identity theft.  I’m in the process of getting credit scores from the three big credit score companies.  I’ve opened a "Fraud Report" with the bank.  They are checking into it, and will let me know what they find…eventually.  A police report will be generated and, if someone is caught, prosecuted (I suggest the electric chair or something similar), and now I worry…and check my other accounts several times a day…and worry some more.

Identity theft not only steals your “information”…it steals your “peace of mind”, and for that, I wish the perpetrator a LONG, LONG incarceration, and a lifetime of misery. 

Think of how much better this world would be if people used their powers for good, and not evil.

Sorry…not a very happy post, but…I’m not very happy.

Here’s hoping YOU are not experiencing similar angst, and that you are monitoring your credit reports, and keeping your documents secure, and that you are doing whatever it takes to keep the “bad guys” from doing what they do!