Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Identity Theft is a Thing - Be Vigilant

Blog City: DAY 3156--July 16, 2024

Prompt: Scammers and Hackers
What do you think of today's scammers and hackers? As species, are we losing our moral hold on life? And/or write about a time you or someone you love was scammed.

Does identity theft count? I had my car broken into and my backpack stolen out of my trunk on January 4 of this year. It was the first sunny day all Christmas Break and I took my client out for a nice walk along the river. We were gone all of 50 minutes. In that time they did a snatch and grab.

It cost me $350 to fix my driver's side window but the worse thing was my backpack being stolen. I had decided to go writing in a cafe after I finished working with my client. This meant I had my laptop, my writing stuff and my book of passwords in my backpack. I lost it all in the blink of an eye and I am still fighting to get everything back. The book of passwords gave them access to my online life...

I did have my wallet and my phone with me, but the fact that they got that book of passwords - it gave them full access to my life.

One of the first things they did was get access to my phone number. They did this by somehow managing to convince Telus that they had a damaged sim card in their phone. So they were able to get access to that... I spent the first weekend of the 19th of January getting my phone number back into my possession and then securing all my financial accounts with backups to my phone number. I could have lost everything because I did not know what to do.

I filed a police report for the theft and later for the identity theft stuff. I didn't realize they had to be separate. I also set up accounts with Equifax and Transunion to monitor any fraudulent behaviour.

I am still trying to get my main Microsoft account back and my first Google account back. I have no access to my gmail stuff from that Google Account or my One Drive with Microsoft. I also have no access to my Amazon account or Kindle. I have also lost access to Facebook and Instagram as they have changed my passwords... I can still see stuff on my phone, but I am not posting.

It is a clusterf**k to say the least. I dealt with the worst of it - my phone and financial stuff first, then took it slow as I find the stress of this can be overwhelming at times. I have been avoiding doing stuff lately and I am starting to lose sleep over it... so I know I need to take care of things one step at a time.

As for the people who did this... I hope they rot in H*ll. I doubt they will ever be found and charged, but what goes around comes around and I hope they get their due.

As for losing our moral hold on life - I think there has always been this dark side of the human race. A side very self-centered and self-absorbed. With our changing world and our reliance on technology, I believe these people have just found a new way to screw others.

It is also good to remember there are good people out there as well. People willing to help, guide and assist. There are also many good-hearted people out there and if you remain positive and upbeat you can attract them to you and help keep the darkness at bay.

This situation will be fixed. I will take things one step at a time to keep from being overwhelmed by the process and the situation, but I have found others to help me and I don't feel quite so alone. I refuse to see myself as a victim. I will overcome this situation and I will have others who have helped me along the way.

Stay safe and vigilant my friends. Don't take your book of passwords out into public. Protect yourself, but don't become so hyper-vigilant that you forget to live and enjoy yourself.

The silver lining in all this is that I am now able to step up and advocate for myself and will be able to do that for my mother as her own dementia issues assail her.