Robbed!

It was the 15^th of the month and I was ready for my bi-monthly bill paying extravaganza. I gathered all of my supplies; checkbook, bills stacked to the ceiling, pretty pen to make the pain more bearable and a piping cup of coffee to comfort the process. I began by pulling up my on-line account to find out what damage had been done since I last checked in. It had been longer than usual due to “back-to-school” activities and appointments for mom. Although I had made sure to keep some padding in the account for these busy times, I was surprised to see our account was dangerously low. How could this be? 

I started on the first line item and noticed the check number was no way near my current numbers.  My first thought was that Hubby needed a check and grabbed one out of the box. I clicked on the check image and it was not written by Hubby but a one; Michelle Rodriquez. Oooopsie…the bank accidentally processed unknown Michelle’s check under my account. I better let them know – STAT!  I took a little closer look and to my surprise, Michelle and her alternate alias; Alisa, had written five false checks on my account to the tune of over $1,000.00! She had copied my account and bank routing number and printed new checks (from two totally different banks) and went on a shopping spree. My heart was pounding and my blood was boiling!

The day quickly changed into a mad dash to the bank to file fraud forms, close the account, open a new one and pick out new checks. Then I was off to the Sheriff station to file a robbery report. The good news was that one check was able to be stopped and my money was immediately credited back to my account. The bad news was that the remaining funds are held hostage until all the reports are processed. 

So, here is the deal; learn from my life lesson and use these tips below to protect your account, a new teen checking account or help your parents maintain their funds. 

Become a Sherlock Holmes. It may take a little time and effort initially but, schedule in appointments for reviewing your credit card and checking accounts a few times a week. When you are regularly monitoring your accounts, it will become a fairly quick process and prevent the grief of losing money.

Mail Box No-No! Do not put your mail in a standalone mail box. Thieves will target these mail boxes to pull out mail containing financial information. In addition to the method used to clean out my account, the hoodlums may also “remove” the payee from your checks and fill it in with another payee.  

Forget Mr. Postman. Do not leave financial mail in your mail box for the postman to pick up.  Wrong-doers can grab this and use the information as described above.

Parent the parent. Consider helping with or if necessary, overseeing your parent’s finances in order to protect them.  Seniors are huge targets for identity and fraud theft.

Become an expert! Check out these tips from the California Office of Privacy Protection for more help on keeping you and your family safe from identity theft.

Share the wealth. Tell friends, co-workers and your family about this situation so they will be aware of it.

Feel free to share any tips you may have regarding identity safety and protection!

KYSS – Keep Your Sandwich SAFE!