Burglarized!!! I had my laptop and personal information stolen a couple of weeks ago from my home. So, during the past week or so, it has been a flurry of closing accounts and creating new accounts. All three credit agencies have been alerted as well as Social Security Administration (the burglars took my social security statements as well as bank statements, paycheck stubs, escrow papers, etc??!!).
Yesterday, I finally received my new credit cards and checks, so I can live freely without worrying how much cash I need to have on my body. Usually, I would have no more than $20 in my wallet, in order to control this inner spending beast of mine. But for the past couple weeks, I've had to carry at least $200.00 in my wallet at any one time to be prepared for anything!
I never knew that life without a credit card can be unsettling. I'm probably the opposite of everyone....I can control and budget what I spend by using a credit card everywhere (which I pay off every month in full), than to have cash on hand to pay for everything. I tend to buy useless and unnecessary things when I have cash in my hands....bills just "slip" away from my hands easier than with a credit card. Whenever I flash out a credit card, I pay more attention to the "needs" and "wants" table in my mind.
Also, I enrolled in a credit monitoring program through Citibank for the next few months. It is $6.95 a month, although the website says $9.95/month. The locks have been changed but the door still remains ugly with signs of a break-in. A new door with a metal frame has been bought. I no longer think that a security door is an ugly addition. A new laptop needs to be bought as well, so that I can work at home. Things are going to be very tight for the next several months. Just when things are getting back to normal, life throws me something rotten. There's no such thing as a good neighborhood that's 100% safe from petty burglaries!!!
Sorry to hear that. Don't forget to put a fraud alert on all your credit files.
ReplyDeleteThat was the first thing I had to do, putting a fraud alert on all the three credit agencies.
ReplyDeleteThis burglary thing and a purchase of a pair of glasses (can't see without them) threw a wrench in my budget..just means I'll be staying home on weekends and making everything last for three to four months. Good job on focusing on increasing your liquid cash amount, Jonathan!!
I'm glad that you are on a path to repair. They took your papers and your laptop...calculating buggers.
ReplyDeleteI hope the police find them, someone try to come into my house while we were sleeping because we use to leave the windows open to let air in when we couldn't afford fans but after that happen we don't but when the person heard my other family member scream she said she heard the person take off.
ReplyDeleteSeems like the person(s) knew what these person(s) were doing and knew exactly what these person(s)wanted to take you should keep talking to the police about your case seems like these person(s) have done this before.
ReplyDeleteThe fraud alert is a good idea, but you may also want to consider placing a security freeze on your credit files (with the 3 credit bureaus--TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). The security freeze is different from a fraud alert the freeze will prevent thieves from opening up new accounts with your credit (cell phones, utilities, credit cards). I assume that the Orange County you live in is either CA, FL, or NY? All of these states have a security freeze law. Here's a link with more info...hope it's helpful.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns//learn_more/003484indiv.html
Your story is not the worst one I've heard. Good for, you were aware of the fact that your infomation had been stolen. Much worse is when somebody is using your information, you get charged for something you never bought and you don't know about it.
ReplyDeleteabout a month or so ago my parents got burglarized. What's shocking is that this is a upper middle class neighborhood in OC. Luckily for my parents they only went for material things like laptops, electronics etc. They left all financial papers, credit cards etc were left untouched.
ReplyDeleteThe mail man who noticed said they were in and out in 10 minutes so this might be college aged kids going for quick items. They took all my video game systems and all my games :'(
How did they get in. I know you're gonna think stupid but my mom had left the sliding door opened. This was an upper middle class neighborhood you would have never believe it would happen. Of course like everything else "it could happen" and it did.
Of course just to be save my parents canceled everything and did what you did. Another thing was that this happened in the middle of the day while my mom was out shopping.
that's terrible. I'm not even talking about someone stealing your information but about being burglarized
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