vehicle break-in in nyc, laptop gone, how to avoid identity theft etc
August 28, 2023 11:12 PM Subscribe
so.. some one broke into my van last night and took a laptop and some other things. I would like to have the laptop, obviously, but..
I realize that is extremely unrealistic.
however, my larger concern is the data that was on the laptop, which was horrifyingly unencrypted in every way (yes, I know..), this data is enough for someone to easily get a new credit card in my name, and steal my identity in a million ways i’m sure i haven’t even thought of.
To give a sense of this “data” - on account of me having recently used the laptop to apply for some things that required tax returns, scans of IDs, bank account numbers, pdfs of bank statements, credit reports etc — it’s literally *all* there in conveniently labeled file directories..smh/fml.. and if someone wanted to bother with a little identity theft they wouldn’t be like, taking a gamble on someone with bad credit or unable to come up with a copy of my photo id / ssn, or knowledge of my annual income and savings .. etc. It seems to me, if they are passingly curious enough to notice it, to be way more of a jackpot than the data available in a stolen wallet.
I have filed a fraud alert with one of the three credit reporting agencies, and allegedly that populates to the other two.
I have changed and am continuing to change passwords. I have gone to various saas type of accounts and clicked “log me out on all devices.”. I hardly ever have my browser remember my passwords so that ..is also something. I do leave a lot of tabs open though, so. hmm.
I have gone to each of the surrounding buildings to inquire about security footage because i’m fairly sure when it happened within an hour. this hasn’t yielded much yet but.. you never know.
I tried to call HP, was given a phone number that allegedly the cops could call on my behalf to track the thing by serial number, but .. i tried that number and it went straight to a “this number has been disconnected” recording.
I am filing a report - I delayed doing so at first because when the officers came out they said it wasn’t a big enough deal for them to dust for prints, and unless i found more items missing that would increase the total value of stolen items it wouldn’t amount to enough of a crime for anyone to follow up on it.. well, at that point i hadn’t done a thorough inventory because the officer i’d spoken with at the precinct on the phone told me not to touch anything, so I said I would go down to the precinct and file later which I’m doing now that I have dug up the serial number of the missing laptop and figured out the other missing items so at least it passes the threshold to be .. i hope .. slightly investigated. I think once I can get the report filed with the serial number maybe they can send out a pawn shop alert or something ..?
Meh.
I guess my question is open ended.. thoughts and suggestions for this predicament welcome, from anyone unfortunate enough to have experienced it or fortunate enough to have any inside knowledge about it...
What am I not thinking to worry about? what exactly are the many ways this could go south that I haven’t considered?
what little-known actions can you take to prevent this sort of identity theft? Do I call my cellular provider and do something so they can’t like .. buy a new phone, impersonate me, and provision the phone with my number? That would be very clever, because then two factor authentication would be .. meaningless.
anyone have experience w the nypd in situations like this? my hunch is if i wanna know anything or get footage before it’s overwritten, it might have to be me doing the digging.
I’m really not worried about the items, but say someone sits on the laptop for six months, and then shows it to their cousin or the guy at the pawn shop copies the files before selling it..and then they begin opening cards and accounts as me.. well... it seems like collecting as much info as i can now is important, yeah?
sigh.. probably forgetting to ask something. but.. thank you all in advance for taking the time to answer. sorry this was so long due to anxiety : |
I realize that is extremely unrealistic.
however, my larger concern is the data that was on the laptop, which was horrifyingly unencrypted in every way (yes, I know..), this data is enough for someone to easily get a new credit card in my name, and steal my identity in a million ways i’m sure i haven’t even thought of.
To give a sense of this “data” - on account of me having recently used the laptop to apply for some things that required tax returns, scans of IDs, bank account numbers, pdfs of bank statements, credit reports etc — it’s literally *all* there in conveniently labeled file directories..smh/fml.. and if someone wanted to bother with a little identity theft they wouldn’t be like, taking a gamble on someone with bad credit or unable to come up with a copy of my photo id / ssn, or knowledge of my annual income and savings .. etc. It seems to me, if they are passingly curious enough to notice it, to be way more of a jackpot than the data available in a stolen wallet.
I have filed a fraud alert with one of the three credit reporting agencies, and allegedly that populates to the other two.
I have changed and am continuing to change passwords. I have gone to various saas type of accounts and clicked “log me out on all devices.”. I hardly ever have my browser remember my passwords so that ..is also something. I do leave a lot of tabs open though, so. hmm.
I have gone to each of the surrounding buildings to inquire about security footage because i’m fairly sure when it happened within an hour. this hasn’t yielded much yet but.. you never know.
I tried to call HP, was given a phone number that allegedly the cops could call on my behalf to track the thing by serial number, but .. i tried that number and it went straight to a “this number has been disconnected” recording.
I am filing a report - I delayed doing so at first because when the officers came out they said it wasn’t a big enough deal for them to dust for prints, and unless i found more items missing that would increase the total value of stolen items it wouldn’t amount to enough of a crime for anyone to follow up on it.. well, at that point i hadn’t done a thorough inventory because the officer i’d spoken with at the precinct on the phone told me not to touch anything, so I said I would go down to the precinct and file later which I’m doing now that I have dug up the serial number of the missing laptop and figured out the other missing items so at least it passes the threshold to be .. i hope .. slightly investigated. I think once I can get the report filed with the serial number maybe they can send out a pawn shop alert or something ..?
Meh.
I guess my question is open ended.. thoughts and suggestions for this predicament welcome, from anyone unfortunate enough to have experienced it or fortunate enough to have any inside knowledge about it...
What am I not thinking to worry about? what exactly are the many ways this could go south that I haven’t considered?
what little-known actions can you take to prevent this sort of identity theft? Do I call my cellular provider and do something so they can’t like .. buy a new phone, impersonate me, and provision the phone with my number? That would be very clever, because then two factor authentication would be .. meaningless.
anyone have experience w the nypd in situations like this? my hunch is if i wanna know anything or get footage before it’s overwritten, it might have to be me doing the digging.
I’m really not worried about the items, but say someone sits on the laptop for six months, and then shows it to their cousin or the guy at the pawn shop copies the files before selling it..and then they begin opening cards and accounts as me.. well... it seems like collecting as much info as i can now is important, yeah?
sigh.. probably forgetting to ask something. but.. thank you all in advance for taking the time to answer. sorry this was so long due to anxiety : |
Take a deep breath.
It's fairly unlikely that the person who stole your laptop is also someone who does identity theft.
Yes, take reasonable steps - freeze your credit, etc. - but don't panic about this.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:18 AM on August 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's fairly unlikely that the person who stole your laptop is also someone who does identity theft.
Yes, take reasonable steps - freeze your credit, etc. - but don't panic about this.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:18 AM on August 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Do I call my cellular provider and do something so they can’t like .. buy a new phone, impersonate me, and provision the phone with my number?
Yes, actually. A friend had exactly this happen to her--they opened a new phone account, using a fake ID created from scans of her real ID that she had in her email for one of any of the ten thousand things people require us to provide scans of our IDs about.
(If you have something similar in your email, by the way, please go in and delete it immediately.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:37 AM on August 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yes, actually. A friend had exactly this happen to her--they opened a new phone account, using a fake ID created from scans of her real ID that she had in her email for one of any of the ten thousand things people require us to provide scans of our IDs about.
(If you have something similar in your email, by the way, please go in and delete it immediately.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:37 AM on August 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also do a ChexSystems freeze, which is separate from your credit, to prevent opening of checking accounts in your name.
Report yourself as a potential victim of identity theft to the IRS, though be aware that this will mean some hassle indefinitely when you file your taxes.
posted by praemunire at 7:34 AM on August 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Report yourself as a potential victim of identity theft to the IRS, though be aware that this will mean some hassle indefinitely when you file your taxes.
posted by praemunire at 7:34 AM on August 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by XtineHutch at 5:09 AM on August 29, 2023 [8 favorites]