So, yesterday was fun. I had a card number monopolized and two of my important accounts accessed by a THIEF.

I hesitate to talk about it. These things happen and you suddenly feel very vulnerable. But I think purging the stress helps, and also maybe someone would learn from it. Although, Google analytics said I have zero readers. Zero. I guess at least the identity thief is not reading my blog.

So yesterday I got an email receipt for something I didn’t buy from a company that transfers money that we all know. I know better than to click on the email incase it was a fake, so I accessed my account and couldn’t get in. Like any normal girl, I called my husband at work to tell him this!

We determined that my email was also being accessed. Mike acted immediately and fixed the email account and the other account. We updated passwords and changed security questions. We also contested the charge right away. It was less than 10 minutes before the company called me. They were extremely helpful and had information I couldn’t have gotten on my own.

They knew that the person had authenticated the account with my credit card. As I already had money in this account that was spent, I never would have KNOWN he had my credit card. In fact, if I didn’t have this account, I may never have known he was stealing money. It was the immediate email receipts that I received before he changed my email password (locking me out of my account) that alerted me to this.

Within 15 minutes we had my credit card canceled and my email and other account restored to my name and new passwords. Ha! Nothing gets by us!

The moral? Well, I’m already really smart online. I never use a site that isn’t secure or doesn’t feel reputable. I believe wholeheartedly in using Etsy and buying from individuals through secure money transfer sites. And I never click on emails that tell me to enter my credit card number or anything stupid like that. (Remember, those are always fake!) So, it’s easy to feel angry: I didn’t deserve it!

I recently did some work for a personal client who said “I don’t believe in putting my credit card online, sorry.” So, would this have happened if I lived like this person? Maybe not, but I know better! Everything is automated. Your credit card is whizzing around all over the place. That person’s check was probably more likely to get stolen out of my mailbox. My purse was probably more likely to have been stolen. I just think it’s naive to think we’re only vulnerable if we use our credit card online. We hear all the time of stores getting hacked, or other databases.

Yes, it was probably from some online transaction that this person was able to snag my email and password and card number. It would have been smarter of me NOT to use the same password. This is something I KNOW and never do because it’s too hard to remember. And I do not kid when I say I was JUST thinking the other day that I’ve had my passwords too long and it was time to change them up a bit.

So, here’s what I learned:

Have different passwords for everything
Change your passwords regularly
If you suspect a breach, log into your accounts immediately an check it out
Contact the accounts as quickly as possible — my problem was FIXED! I will point out that I lost no money.
Always make sure there is a secure connection when you order online (not a silver bullet, but still a must)
Don’t assume it can’t happen to you! Even if you NEVER shop online.

And KEEP AND EYE ON EVERYTHING! Make sure your accounts all have your current email address. If I hadn’t seen that receipt, he may have had time to do more. Yeah, we check the credit card statement, but that’s only once a month.

I say take 5 minutes today and check out your accounts, change any passwords you’ve had for a while, and make sure you know how to respond quickly if you have a breach. Look up and know what you would need to do if someone took over your accounts. Oh, and your email company probably does NOT have a phone number. Also, I was very grateful that I don’t store a lot of stuff in my email. Not folders with passwords or account log-ins. I have heard that people do this! That’s crazy!

People are always looking for a quick buck, or ways to get something for nothing. I’m pretty sure that’s what this was, and nothing more. At least after Mike convinced me to stop worrying about it and move on. It was caught and fixed!

Can you guess which shorts-wearing hero is going to deliver my new, overnighted credit card? Yay, UPS!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under frustrations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.