My Identity Was Stolen…

Ever wake up in the morning hoping to deal with a stolen identity? Yeah! Wait! No! Yeah, me neither. But it can happen to anyone. In fact, it's happened to me once, and it happened to about 40 million Americans last year, costing them a total of 43 billion dollars. Now, if you've been hashtag blessed and highly favored in this department, let me catch you up to speed on what identity fraud is in the first place. It's when someone steals your online information, a.k.a. your personal identity, through things like credit card info, social media logins, bank accounts, and social security number. They then use that, without even asking you, all for their own financial gain. Rude. Just ask me, bro. Like, if you need something. Like, why steal it? I'll give it. Here's my social. 5-8-3-5-3-0-9. I know that ends with 5-3-0-9. Guess the rest. You get a dollar. I'm gonna write that down. Once they break through your supposedly secure encrypted data, these weirdos can do anything they want with your identity. Like file a tax return in your name, go on a shopping spree at Aeropostale, or even worse, buckle. I want to know who's shopping there. Who hurts you? Is someone forcing you to shop at Buckle against your will? Blink twice. And getting everything back to the way it was can be super complicated, not to mention overwhelming. So today, I'm sharing the gory deets from my own cautionary tale, as well as some really good tips for how to prevent ID theft in the first place, and how to put things straight should it ever happen to you. God forbid. But speaking of crime, don't you think it would be a crime to not like and subscribe right now to this channel? I mean, haven't I been through enough? So don't be a criminal. Be a hero. Click those buttons and share this with the person in your life who you just know was formerly employed as the third grade hall monitor. They will love the justice. Here's my story. It was a Sunday, November, when I got the call. 2013. A nice day, warm for that time of year. And I had no idea that I was about to cross paths with two Bostonian women of indiscernible heritage who would change my life and steal my identity. They tell me the men want to be me and the women want to be with me. But in this case, the women just wanted to be me. Wasn't that complimentary? So in November of 2013, I get a call from a debt collector regarding an unpaid debt of $1,734. And it was owed to a Verizon wireless account opened in April of that same year in Boston, Massachusetts. Here's the thing. I wasn't living in Boston, and I had never done business with Verizon before. So here's what happened next. I go and I pull my credit report to go, is this debt collector for real? And right there on my credit report, I see these accounts open with these cell phone companies with all of these unpaid debts on them. And that's how I knew something bad had happened. Someone had used my name, my social security number, and a previous address to open this account fraudulently. And also on my credit report, I saw a delinquent account with AT&T for another $1,666.40. How do you even do that? How many ringtones did these women have to buy to rack up that much debt? And we all know the only worthy ringtone in 2013 was Wrecking Ball. So I called the collection company back, and they confirmed the AT&T account was opened under my name and social security number on the same day as the Verizon account. And I got to hand it to these thieves. They wasted no time. Very productive ladies. And this thing was charged off by AT&T to the collectors in May of 2013. Now, there was a Boston address on file with this account. So I became the detective. I did some sleuthing to find out that it belonged to these two women in Boston, Sahra and Lucia. Shout out if you guys are watching this. I've forgiven you, but I've not forgotten you. Hence this video. Now, you're probably wondering, George, why didn't the detective deal with this? I don't know. They didn't seem to care much about my situation. But the good news is I had ID theft protection, and Xander Insurance said, hey, go file a police report locally. So I called the non-emergency line. I met up with a police officer, filed the report, and then I began to work with Xander to set it straight. And even with ID theft protection, fraud is not fun to deal with. It takes time to dig up all the info you need and to clear it off your record. And the sad news is most people aren't prepared for this. While it ended up okay for me in the end, I don't want you to have to go through this mess and spend potentially months or years untangling it, especially because ID theft prevention is very much possible. You just have to be smart and be aware because thieves on the internet are a lot like monsters under your bed. You can't always see them, but you know they're there and they'll snatch your little footie if you leave it hanging off your bedside. Don't leave yourself vulnerable. Tuck those financial toes in. Hey, we'll get right back to the episode, but I want to give a quick shout out to our friends at BetterHelp who are sponsoring this episode. Listen, sometimes we know what's good for us, but it feels like we just can't make ourselves do it. Like I should just go to bed, but I'm a new dad and my baby just got a diaper rash and it looks really red. And sometimes my brain convinces me to check WebMD and then I click another article and another article and suddenly it's three in the morning. If your brain tends to work like that, therapy could help. So your brain works with you, not against you. And sometimes it's just as simple as talking things through and learning strategies to be intentional about doing the things you know you should. So if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. BetterHelp is flexible because it's 100% online so it fits your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and you can switch therapists at any time for no extra charge. Make your brain your friend with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash George today and get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P.com slash George or click the link in the description. All right, back to the episode we go. So here's some practical ways to protect yourself online. For starters, freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus. That way no one, including you, can open up an account, apply for a loan or get a new credit card using your financial info. This is a free process. It's not gonna hurt your credit score and it will encourage you to live without debt. That's a win-win-win. Another thing you can do is use antivirus software. You remember that? Yeah, all you dads out there just trying to run a Norton update. You know what I'm talking about. So make dad proud. Do your updates and if you want added protection, make a habit of logging out anywhere you use your username and password to log in. Another thing you can do, be private on social media. Okay, just like Santa, the fraudsters are always watching. You sit on a throne of lies. You don't need to share every detail of your life. You don't need to update us on the burning sensation you're concerned about, Carol. Okay, the neighborhood Facebook group is not the place. That should be an HOA violation. Keep personal things personal and talk to your doctor, please. Now, while we're at it, another thing you can do is keep your phone secure. So take advantage of that passcode, fingerprint scan, the face recognition. Keep your Bluetooth turned off when you're not using it. And if you have an iPhone, which I hope you do, register it with iCloud so that you can remotely wipe your phone if it does get stolen. The cloud will keep you safe and happy. It'll really make you feel good in here. Here's another one that irks me. Never use unsecured Wi-Fi. And while you're at it, your home Wi-Fi has got to be secured with a password. Otherwise, anyone near your home can hop onto your network and potentially steal your identity. So remember this, hide your kids, hide your Wi-Fi. Now, there's a lot more you can do, but to speed it up, let's make this a lightning round. And go. Change your passwords every 90 days. Enable two-factor authentication on all of your devices. Check your online bank account every day and look for any suspicious transactions. Don't send bill payments from your mailbox. Don't fall for phishing or SMS scams. This is mostly for you older folk out there, okay? No, they're not going to do an update to your computer through the phone. Just don't give them any information. You don't know what you're talking about. Be extra careful sending money online. Money orders, Western Union, Zelle, be very cautious before you send anyone a dime. Keep your kids' information secure too. Guard that social security card and bank account numbers with your life. Don't leave this stuff hanging around. Monitor your medical history. Shred all of your sensitive documents and, lastly, wipe those electronics before you donate them. I know it's a lot to remember, but the main theme here is be aware of your entry points and check up on them every so often. And yeah, some of these may seem like common sense, but they may not be common sense to your nana or your abuela, your babushka, your teta, or for you one-percenters out there watching from Martha's Vineyard, your grandmother. It's your grandma. Check up on her. All right, that's how to prevent getting your identity stolen on the front end. But how do you know if it's been stolen and what do you do if it happens? I mean, you don't just look up one day and realize you have no identity. I mean, unless your name is Gary and your coworkers have been calling you Jerry for the last 17 years. It's Larry now. For most people, having your identity stolen isn't always immediately obvious, but there are certain things to look for if you've got a funny feeling. For example, you start getting random calls or texts from debt collectors about accounts you didn't open, or you find a charge or account on your statement that you don't recognize. Maybe there's medical bills you don't recall, a dipping or rising credit score that you can't explain, having your tax return rejected, or getting a tax transcript you never even asked for. And lastly, emails about your account information changing, but you don't remember changing anything regarding your account. Sus, my friends, sus. Okay, I am sus. So if anything like that has come to your attention, check all bank and credit card statements very carefully, and then run your credit reports to confirm the weird activity. And fun fact for you, you're entitled to get your credit report for free from each credit bureau once a year. Just go to annualcreditreport.com. It is authorized by federal law. Don't pay for these things. Then if you see something, say something immediately. Report it to the FTC, to your bank, whoever's involved, make sure to let them know fraud has happened. Don't get to it after you catch up with your pal Janet on FaceTime and grab your mid-morning chili dog and take a cat nap. You gotta stay on top of this. And notify these bureaus so that they can look into the issue. And hopefully, you're not gonna find anything when you look at your credit report. But in case you ever do discover identity theft, don't panic at the disco. Instead, get extra logical. I'm talking Sheldon-level logical, which is the only time I'll ever recommend the Big Bang Theory for anything of value. It's just, it's peak cringe, okay? It's mid. Yeah, well, you know, that's just like your opinion, man. So it's time to figure out how to prove that your identity was actually stolen so that you can prepare to get your life back and start to recover. And just because the theft is clear to you doesn't mean businesses where the fraud occurred will agree. Yeah, no, I'm sorry. I'm not buying it. So part of having ID theft protection is that they go and do this work for you. They'll contact each and every business where someone pretended to be you while opening accounts or making purchases. And what you wanna do is connect with their fraud department or the fraud squad because that's their whole job. And most companies will have one. And let them know that the activity they've seen in your name is fake. It wasn't you. And if they ask for proof, ask them if your tears proved nothing to them. And then mention actual examples you've already found where fraud was happening in your name. That's actually helpful. Another thing you can do, ask each business to close or freeze the accounts where they've detected fraud. Next comes the exciting part. You get to channel Chicago PD, file a police report, and tell the Federal Trade Commission about the ID theft. Now they'll begin an investigation. They'll find out what happened. And hopefully they'll find the perp. And if Wishbone is on the case, we're gonna find the perp. Plus, if you report your ID theft to the FTC, within two business days of discovering it, you'll only be liable to pay up to 50 bucks for any unauthorized use of your bank and credit accounts under federal law. And the longer you leave it, the more of that financial liability falls on your shoulders. But how do they know when you discovered it? Are they always watching? Like the fraudsters in Santa? Could the FTC be Santa? Find out next time on Chicago PD. Also, make sure to contact your bank's fraud department and your utility provider so that your info isn't used to set up anything from medical insurance to utilities in your name. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but this stuff happens every day. And even if you haven't received any bogus bills from providers or credit card companies, go ahead and contact them anyway. Because if one of your accounts was hacked, chances are the others are also at risk. And lastly, get any fraudulent account records from debt collectors. I know you don't want to be a first name basis with these people, but now's not the time to ignore letters and calls you receive from these guys. Remember, it wasn't you, but you've got to clean this mess up. That's not fair. I recommend staying ahead of the game by informing them in writing of your identity being stolen and then sending them a copy of your FTC report to back it up. That way you're within your rights to obtain written info, but you have to put your request in a physical letter to the debt collector to get what you want. Again, it's just like what you do with old Saint Nick. Coincidence? I think not. I don't know. You're going to have to go find a piece of paper and you're going to have to get a printer somewhere. It's a lot of work, but this is what happens when you let ID theft happen to you. But here's an upside. Your friends at the FTC will provide sample letters for you to get started. So it's not going to be that hard. If your case is a simple one of a stolen credit card without any other theft or sensitive info, it could be as quick as reversing the charges and replacing the card. Maybe about a week. But if someone steals your social security number and uses it to open fake accounts in your name, runs up tax debt, or commits any other kind of crime, it could take quite a bit longer. And that's why it's important to take action as soon as you realize your identity has been stolen. And more importantly, avoid this whole mess in the first place through constant vigilance. Because listen, it could take a long time to sort this out. And that's time you could be spending rewatching The Office for the fifth time. Identity theft is not a joke, Jim. Now, good news for me. I have ID theft protection covered by my employer. Thanks, Dave. But if you don't have that sort of thing, no worries. It's super affordable and I'll link below to the company that I use to cover me and protect me. So make sure to share this video with all of your friends named Sahra and Lucia. And while you're at it, ask them if they dabble in ID theft. I, for one, would love to know. Thanks for watching. I'll see you guys next time.