I received a replacement debit card in the mail yesterday
and the envelope was open. Not just the edges, not like the glue had come
unstuck, but intentionally and completely opened. I immediately called the bank
to have them reissue a replacement for my replacement.
I’m imagining a thief sitting in a dark room, twiddling
their fingers, while watching late night infomercials, just waiting for me to
activate my new debit card, and at that very moment, they break out a
pristine piece of paper with all of my card information written neatly. And poof.
My life is destroyed.
Maybe I’m exaggerating…but maybe not…We are our money. We
are our credit. We’re just numbers to the big bad world. And our numerical
identities are so vulnerable.
A credit card sitting in the mailbox all day. A receipt left
in a gas pump or ATM. Unsecured WiFi Unsecured websites. Phone and email scams
galore. Using the last four of our social security numbers for verification. From
where I’m sitting, it all seems a little too easy for a thief to become me if I
just drop my guard for a moment.
When it comes to what’s in my control, I shred important
documents and receipts, I log out of online accounts and close the tabs
afterwards, I don’t give out sensitive information unless I’m 100% sure it’s
not a scam; basically, I consider myself careful, without being overly
obsessive.
On the other hand, most of it isn’t in our control. We give
our numbers to so many different companies. And we just have to trust that
they are following all of the rules and regulations to protect our
information. In these situations, I’ll admit to being a bit of a naive optimist
so that I can sleep at night. But it’s hard when I’ve been given someone’s
account information as the plate of my street food in an Indian metropolis…
Back to yesterday’s mail: Right when I'm feeling very proud
of myself for thwarting the thief's evil plans, there's a knock on the front
door. It's my neighbor. She just wanted to let me know that the mailman
accidentally delivered my debit card to her house and she didn't realize
it wasn’t hers till after she opened it. And the world is a safe and beautiful place again.
So, what’s a person to do? Personally, I’m going to stick my
head back in the sand, do what I can, hope for the best, and plan for the
worst. My plan? Have you seen the movie “Identity Thief”? Close enough.
What would you do if someone stole your identity?
-Leah Schonlank
Finance Gym offers personal finance coaching in professionally facilitated peer-advisory groups.
Are you ready to reach your financial goals? Get motivated. Get support. Get results!
No comments:
Post a Comment