My purse was stolen Memorial Day night from my locked car parked in my driveway.
Across the street, a new high school graduate experienced the same crime. She lost $800 in cash and gift cards and her class ring, and the thieves used her credit card to gas up eight times that night. The nerve.
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I'm out $60 in cash, $50 to replace my shattered car window with a salvaged one, $10 for a duplicate driver's license and lots of time.
I had to file a police report, cancel two credit cards (the thieves ran up $76.42 on one at Wal-Mart), a debit card and my security badge at work, and get the license, which thankfully was digital and didn't bear my Social Security number.
I held off a few days closing my checking account. I was hoping to avoid the hassle of canceling and reauthorizing all my automatic transactions; I have 10 deposits and withdrawals every month.
My banker affirmed my decision to change accounts. Though I'd put a stop-payment order on the check numbers that were in my purse, thieves -- she explained -- can use a check and computer software to forge checks with new numbers. They also can quickly pass checks with retailers who exchange electronic images, rather than original paper checks, with banks.
My perpetrators did the latter, writing three hot checks totaling nearly $200 at Sooner Wine & Spirits on S May Avenue. Two were written on the same day -- for $94.45 and $94.46.
Along with closing my accounts, I placed fraud alerts with the three credit reporting companies. Now, any company that checks my credit knows my information was stolen and must call me to authorize new credit.
I've written a lot about identity theft, so I especially should know not to leave my purse in the car -- even a locked car in a nice neighborhood.
Identity hijackers also steal mail and search trash bins for credit card statements and credit applications. Then they obtain loans and spend money as fast as possible -- even activating cell phones and leasing apartments.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than a half million Americans have been victims of identity theft. Though victims generally aren't liable for more than $50 if they notify financial institutions within two days of learning of their loss, they can spend years trying to fix credit problems.
On average, it costs $1,173 and 175 man hours.
Meanwhile, here's a personal finance writer who's a victim of identity theft. Some might call that irony. I call it bum luck.
