Blame it on the Equifax security data breach? Blame it on TurboTax and the IRS? Blame it on Anthem Blue Cross? Blame it on Microsoft? I've received so many notices now in regards to my personal identification being compromised it's become just another daily nuisance to deal with. Seriously, I'm spending more and more of my precious time on the phone and writing letters cancelling credit cards, subscriptions, and loans I did not apply for. I've put a stringent freeze on my credit and notified the proper authorities the identity theft, but do you really trust Equifax and the other credit reporting agencies to carry through with freezing my credit when they so sloppily handle it to begin with? I think not.
The onus is on us, the innocent party, to constantly monitor and scrutinize any activity. It's taking up more and more of my time, folks. I've got better things to do than to defend my innocence while the perpetrators attempt to collect cash at my expense (pun intended). Is this what a perfect 850 credit score gets you? Of course. People want to use my credit track record because they trashed theirs.
I received a phone call from somebody claiming they were from FEMA in regards to the disaster claim filed in the North Bay Fires and wanted to schedule a site visit. I know better than to give out any more information over the phone than necessary. We did at one time live in a house that was completely destroyed by the recent fires and a quick internet search discloses that. However, we have not lived in that house for some years now. I asked the person on the phone which address was used to file the claim. They answered with an area in Sonoma County that was not heavily impacted by the fires. Trash the claim. Fraud.
The next day or so I received a letter via snail mail from the Small Business Administration saying that a claim had been filed for a disaster relief loan. Again, fraud. However, dealing with it took up an hour time on hold.
Yesterday I went on my Amazon account to purchase a gift for somebody. The associated email address was one I did not recognize and I could not get into my own account. Somebody hacked my account. After doing some digging with the Amazon fraud department we figured out that it was a student in Texas who wanted my free six-month prime membership and free kindle book downloads. There was no monetary damage done, but somebody was riding on the coattails of my account. The Amazon representative and I had a little fun with the perpetrator. Long story short account access will be cut off once the fraudulent fish bites a big fat worm.
I'm telling you: snail mail and cash are making a comeback. It reminds me of a song lyric by Sting (love him). Never seen a miracle of science that did not go from a blessing to a curse
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