Avoid identity theft now…or risk the same shock Fran Gillespie of Tampa, Florida, faced when her regular mail contained something she never expected…in a million years!
Fran remembers the day as if it were yesterday.
She went to grab her mail as she did every day. Except this day, Fran pulled an overdraft notice from her mailbox.
An overdraft notice?
You see, Fran never had received an overdraft notice…in her entire life! She barely could contain herself. She was furious her bank had made this mistake.
Quickly, she hurried inside, located the phone number to her bank & waited for the customer service person to get on the line.
After what seemed like hours, Fran informed the rep the bank had made a serious mistake by sending her an overdraft notice. She read the balance from her checkbook ledger…$6,125.43.
$6 thousand, 125 dollars & 43 cents.
Quickly, the CSR informed Fran the bank had not made a mistake. Indeed, her account was overdrawn.
What is the last check number she had recorded, the CSR asked Fran?
Had she forgotten to record a Best Buy purchase?
Best Buy purchase? “What Best Buy purchase?” Fran recalls shouting.
In the next couple seconds, Fran discovered the shocking truth of what was unraveling to cause her to lose more than just her money.
What occurred right then and there cost Fran hundreds of hours of lost sleep, frustration beyond belief & $1,000s of dollars.
Click “READ MORE” below for the rest of Fran’s shocking story & how easily the same thing possibly could happen to you.
FRAN’S SHOCKING REALITY…THE HORROR…THE HORROR!
Not in a million years could Fran believe what was happening to her.
She had absolutely no idea what was happening…to what extent it was happening…or how to stop what was unfolding before her very eyes.
Fran was the victim of ID Theft!
Somehow…somewhere, some thief had gotten hold of Fran’s checkbook.
This clever thief removed checks from deep within the book of checks….not the beginning checks. That would’ve been too obvious.
The thief knew exactly how much Fran kept in her account…she had kept her checkbook ledger balanced to the penny.
Yep, there it was…$6,125.43.
What a gift for some thief.
Even better (for the thief that is) Fran conveniently kept her name, address, phone number & driver’s license number printed on her checks.
And in case she ever needed it, she had her social security number written on a little piece of paper she had taped to the transparent liner of her checkbook cover.
How much better could this get, the thief must have thought.
In a glance, the thief could see Fran rarely wrote checks…just a couple checks a month. Therefore, pulling blank checks from deep within the series gave the thief plenty of time.
Fran never realized what hit her.
The damage was done. The CSR kept apologizing to Fran, though she heard nothing. She filed a police report and that began her long uphill battle to clear her name from Identity Theft.
This ID Thief new exactly what he/she was doing.
This thief was clever.
Are you making it really easy to steal your identity and money? Find out below how Fran’s life got turned upside down & what you
When Fran received overdraft notices in the mail, she knew it was a mistake.
“A bounced check!” Fran recalls in shock. “I’d never had a bounced check.”
Paying by check, the thief ended up with a new flat screen TV, a hi-fi stereo system & a new laptop…loaded of course. The resulting police investigation traced one canceled check to a Best Buy store where most of the damage took place.
Other canceled checks for smaller amounts rolled in to begin the horror.
But that was not the worst of it.
Fran soon discovered accounts had been opened in her name.
Someone bought a car using her name, social, address & phone number. Car salesperson must have been happy to sell a car that day.
Fran did NOT know how to protect her identity…and money:
- Fran did not know to call the credit bureaus immediately to place a “credit freeze” on her accounts. With a credit freeze in place, new creditors, employers, and landlords will not have access to your credit report. If they make a request to view your credit report, they will simply receive a message or a code that indicates that the account has been frozen. Without access to a credit report, most creditors will not extend any new credit, thereby protecting consumers from further identity theft.
- Fran also did not know not to sign her checks using her exact name as it was pre-printed on the check.
- She did not know to keep this signature on file at the bank. For example, if the name on the check is Paul M. Smith, sign the check P. M. Smith or Paul Smith as an extra precaution. A thief will most likely sign his (or her) name the way it is printed in the upper left hand corner.
Sometimes canceling a credit card or closing a checking account simply isn’t enough to prevent fraud, as total identity theft may have occurred, causing countless problems for a consumer. A credit freeze is a good way to ensure that no new lines of credit are opened in your name.
A credit freeze is free to consumers who have a police report that can be documented to show recent abuse to their credit profile.
For a security freeze to be effective to stop new account identity theft, it must be placed at each of the three major credit reporting agencies.
Of course, you can put a freeze on your reports even if you’re not a victim of identity theft but you will have to pay about $10 bucks per bureau ($10 x 3 = $30 bucks).
When the credit bureau receives your letter, they have five business days to place the freeze on your account. Once your credit file is frozen, you’ll receive a PIN number from the creditors which you’ll need to keep handy to lift a freeze in the future.
You‘ll have the option of lifting a freeze temporarily or permanently, on one account or all accounts. If you choose to lift a credit freeze, you can do so by phone using your PIN number. The credit bureaus have three business days after receiving your phone request to lift the freeze.
New creditors will not be able to view your credit score or credit report, and a credit freeze will not lower your credit score.
Keep in mind that existing creditors, collection agencies working on their behalf, and government agencies can still access your credit report. And you may still receive offers for new credit if you haven’t previously opted out.
You can stop pre-approved credit offers by calling 1-888-5OPTOUT.
Fran unintentionally made many mistakes…these mistakes made stealing Fran’s money and identity too easy:
- Do not keep much money in your checking account.
- Do not put your personal information on your checks. I put my name…that’s it. I’ve had banks tell me I have to put an address. I politely disagree with them until they stop hassling me.
- Do not put your social security # on anything, including a piece of paper in your checkbook.
- Do not keep your ledger attached to your checkbook.
- Do not sign your check exactly as printed on your check.
Most of all, consider not even using checks or debit cards until BOTH are protected from attack.
Unless you’ve stood in Fran’s shoes, you only can imagine the pain & suffering she has been going through. The police will file a report, but they struggle to prioritize investigating a crime where there’s no loss of life or “real’ cime committed.
That’s exactly what I heard back in the 80s when I had my identity stolen.
What experience do you have with Identity Theft? Hopefully, you never have been faced with ID Theft.
Avoid Identity Theft by first realizing this could happen to you. Look at your checkbook, if you still use checks, to confirm you’re not breaking rules 1-5. In a later post, I’ll discuss LifeLock, a paid service guaranteeing to protect your identity or your money back.
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