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-- Lost Credit Card/ID Theft Reminder

Lost Credit Card/ID Theft Reminder

Based on my experiences this morning, I just want to re-emphasize with my TA friends how important it is to contact your credit card companies, credit reporting agencies, police, etc, IMMEDIATELY following a theft of cards/wallet.

I had my wallet stolen this morning in the 1 minute it took me to get a Metrocard this morning. I put my wallet into my pocket after taking out my Transitchek card, had to shift to the next machine because the one was out of order, and during that time, it must have fell out. In the time it took me to complete the transaction, someone had already walked behind me and stolen it. I asked the attendant if anyone had found a wallet as well as anyone who was standing in the general area.

When I got to work less than 15 minutes later, I got online to get all of my creditors' phone numbers and accessed my accounts to learn that the thief had already started using my credit cards to purchase monthly and weekly Metrocards. Fortunately, by the time I got all of them closed, only $200 had been charged ($100 on 2 (edit: now 4 and attempted ATM withdrawals) separate cards). Imagine how much damage could have been done if I had waited a few days.

The most concerning aspect, though, was the loss of my driver's license and social security card. Because of this, I had to call the credit reporting agencies and have them put an inital fraud watch on my credit record, in case anyone tries to start a new line of credit in my name. Plus now I have to get new versions of each document re-issued, which God knows how long that will take. At least the credit card companies get you new cards in within a week or so, and my bank will have a new debit card for me tomorrow.

Just a word to the wise in case any of you find yourself in a similar predicament.

New Social security cards takes about 4 weeks. I dont know where you live but the office in Flushing Queens is pretty fast. The only thing is just to get that you will need other documents. If you dont have those then you need the incident report from the Police stating that you have no id. Its a lil card they give you to take to agencies of you have any trouble. Get that right away, you will need that in the event someone asks you for ID and you dont have anything.

holy crap, ryan, i'm really sorry to hear that this happened to you. thanks so much for posting this thread though, it's truly appreciated.

i dont mean to make it a "let's tell all our id-theft stories" but i do have 1 interesting one that really puts a spin on thinking that only strangers steal identities...

my brother's best friend vinny has 2 sisters, one of which is a durg addict and lives in Utah, basically collected welfare for the past couple of years. one day vinny decided to call my brother (who is a mortgage broker) and have him check his credit. my bro found outrageous unpaid credit card bills, cell phone bills, utility bills- his own sister filled out applications in vinny's name and just racked up massive bills (tens of thousands). vinny's credit is completely obliterated but that's not even the worst part. since it's his own sister, the law refuses to prosecute her and they will not give him any help in paying back the bills that weren't even his in the first place.

luckily, his sister is in jail for a slew of other crimes, including drug dealing/possession, parental neglect and theft among other things. the worst part is that while she was on a 5-6 day drug binge in the middle of nowhere, her sons were left in their condo all alone with a registered sex offender living nearby. thank god the man was arrested after the incident with the boys but nothing will change the fact of what he did to them. no one knows who the fathers of the boys are and vinny is now taking full care of one of the boys and trying to get full custody of the other son, who is in foster care out in Utah. really sad story but in the end, vinny's glad he found out about his sister doing all these awful things so that he can now raise his nephews in a safe and loving environment, no matter what the cost

Re: Lost Credit Card/ID Theft Reminder

quote:

Originally posted by Groundhog Boy Based on my experiences this morning, I just want to re-emphasize with my TA friends how important it is to contact your credit card companies, credit reporting agencies, police, etc, IMMEDIATELY following a theft of cards/wallet. I had my wallet stolen this morning in the 1 minute it took me to get a Metrocard this morning. I put my wallet into my pocket after taking out my Transitchek card, had to shift to the next machine because the one was out of order, and during that time, it must have fell out. In the time it took me to complete the transaction, someone had already walked behind me and stolen it. I asked the attendant if anyone had found a wallet as well as anyone who was standing in the general area. When I got to work less than 15 minutes later, I got online to get all of my creditors' phone numbers and accessed my accounts to learn that the thief had already started using my credit cards to purchase monthly and weekly Metrocards. Fortunately, by the time I got all of them closed, only $200 had been charged ($100 on 2 separate cards). Imagine how much damage could have been done if I had waited a few days. The most concerning aspect, though, was the loss of my driver's license and social security card. Because of this, I had to call the credit reporting agencies and have them put an inital fraud watch on my credit record, in case anyone tries to start a new line of credit in my name. Plus now I have to get new issues of each document re-issued, which God knows how long that will take. At least the credit card companies get you new cards in within a week or so, and my bank will have a new debit card for me tomorrow. Just a word to the wise in case any of you find yourself in a similar predicament.

Also call the Federal Trade Comission (1-877-438-4338). They pretty much tell you all of the steps that you should go through. I'd covered most of the bases already, but she was able to let me know that since I am a victim of ID theft, with a police report, I can have a 7 year fraud alert kept on my account. During this time, I will receive a new credit report every 6 months and will be notified when new lines of credit are requested through companies that use the credit reporting agencies (which should be pretty much anyone that would offer substantial credit).

On another note, any idea of how to go out without a driver's license? I need to do a lot of drinking after talking on the phone all day with credit card companies. Guess I'm also fucked for Porter and Infusion Thursday. Do doormen accept birth certificates and a newly issued work ID? Just trying to lighten the mood since this sucks.

passport

quote:

Originally posted by trunks1022 passport

Any other ideas from anyone for those of us without a passport (Yeah, I know, my girlfriend has been on me to get one, too)

shit.. as i read this i realize i don't know where my ATM card is...

quote:

Originally posted by madhattared shit.. as i read this i realize i don't know where my ATM card is...

If it's just an ATM card (not debit w/ Mastercard or Visa), at least they need a PIN to access your account. I just found out this afternoon that there were charges to my Capital One card for the same things as my other two cards (1 Monthly Metrocard and 1 Weekly), plus they attempted to take out a cash advance from an ATM, but since I don't take cash advances and have never created a PIN for any of my credit cards, they were unsuccessful. BTW, what thief tries to take out only $140 from an account?

quote:

Originally posted by Groundhog Boy If it's just an ATM card (not debit w/ Mastercard or Visa), at least they need a PIN to access your account. I just found out this afternoon that there were charges to my Capital One card for the same things as my other two cards (1 Monthly Metrocard and 1 Weekly), plus they attempted to take out a cash advance from an ATM, but since I don't take cash advances and have never created a PIN for any of my credit cards, they were unsuccessful. BTW, what thief tries to take out only $140 from an account?

an idiot, yeah i'm gonna go home and look for it tn and if i can't find it i'll cancel it and have the bank send me a new one

quote:

Originally posted by Groundhog Boy If it's just an ATM card (not debit w/ Mastercard or Visa), at least they need a PIN to access your account. I just found out this afternoon that there were charges to my Capital One card for the same things as my other two cards (1 Monthly Metrocard and 1 Weekly), plus they attempted to take out a cash advance from an ATM, but since I don't take cash advances and have never created a PIN for any of my credit cards, they were unsuccessful. BTW, what thief tries to take out only $140 from an account?

So what happens if u use it for cash advances and have created a pin and they try and use ure card ? Can they still take money out if they type in the wrong pin ?

mann ry sorry to hear that happened to u. dayams we gotta be careful these days...

quote:

Originally posted by djquick83 So what happens if u use it for cash advances and have created a pin and they try and use ure card ? Can they still take money out if they type in the wrong pin ?

i certainly hope not. they would still need your correct pin. actually that goes for every transaction doesnt it (like if ur at an ATM & decide to make several transactions -- u'll be prompted to re-enter ur pin)

hmm...is there something where if someone tries to use a card with the wrong pin a number of times, that the machine retains the card? actually that would be helpful, dont u think? well of course it wouldnt be helpful if it was *u* who made this error lol.

why were u carrying your Social card with you? that's a mistake. always.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Lord why were u carrying your Social card with you? that's a mistake. always.

he's a social kinda guy...

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Lord why were u carrying your Social card with you? that's a mistake. always.

Yeah, this is something that you should simply remember. Your actual number, that is.

quote:

Originally posted by djquick83 So what happens if u use it for cash advances and have created a pin and they try and use ure card ? Can they still take money out if they type in the wrong pin ?

No, they can't. My thief actually attempted this with at least two of my cards that I'm aware of. Twice the person tried to take $140 (I'm assuming it was a machine with a Quickcash option), and with the other card, they tried it at 11:30 am at a grocery and 3 times at 5 at a check cashing place. Each time, the transaction was denied because they didn't have the correct PIN.

quote:

Originally posted by DOOMBOT Yeah, this is something that you should simply remember. Your actual number, that is.

Yeah, remembering the number isn't a problem, but there are certain times when you need to actually have the card present. I needed it when I got my driver's license and stupidly forgot to take it out of my wallet after I got it because I got the license on my lunch break at work and didn't get home until late and just forgot it was in there.

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