President/Founder of DPCI

As President of DPCI, Joe directs all operations, business development, R&D, partnerships and marketing activities at the company.

Joe enjoys blogging about various trends in content technologies, on project management best practices, and also on his insights into the operations of running the business of DPCI.

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November 16, 2008

Preemptive Identity Theft Protection, in Reactive Mode

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Last month I lost my wallet for the second time in my life. The first was over 20 years ago in the Rockefeller Library (the Rock) at Brown University. That time the wallet was returned, with the cash. Not so lucky this time, as it was lost (or pinched) in the NYC Transit system.

The contents of the wallet I lost last month:

1 Drivers License
2 Credit Cards
1 Bank card
1 Social Security Card (I actually had a reason to be carrying it that day, although I do feel like an idiot now since I've had the number memorized since I was 16)
Sundry membership cards for PMI, AAA, USATC, museums, etc
Wallet-sized photos, including one of my cherished grandmother that I had not duplicated

I had to travel down to Philadelphia the next day for a conference, so needless to say I was anxious about the situation. Identity theft can happen with just a few of these pieces of identification. Having all this information in one place was a serious lapse in judgement on my part.

Here are the steps I took:

Reported the loss to my bank and to the credit card companies, who then reissued new cards/numbers - Recovery time took 2-3 business days, all-in
Called the following three credit reporting organizations to put a lock on my credit:

Equifax: 800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 800-397-3742
Trans Union: 800-679.6278

Called the Social Security Administration Fraud Line, but figured out after a series of messages that there wasn't much to be done since there's no proactive protection service offered by SSA
Upon returning from Philadelphia, stopped by the NYC Department of Motor Vehicles Express location on 34^th Street and 8^th Avenue (brought Passport for proof of ID): New drivers license came within 2 weeks
Stopped by the NYPD precinct above-ground to where I lost my wallet so as to file a police report. A note: I have never experienced such great customer service as with NYPD - they actually called back a few times over the ensuing days to ask some additional clarifying questions and to see if I had detected any misuse of my credit cards (Go NYPD!)
Purchased an annual plan with Equifax (www.equifax.com) for their "ID Patrol" Service. This offering does the following:

Allows the user to lock/unlock credit with an ultra-secure platform
Tracks use of credit cards anywhere, and reports that usage at monetary increments that the user sets
Reports to the user any use of social security card online or otherwise
Immediate reports if there is any suspected misuse of credit

Purchased a handsome new Swiss Army wallet similar to the one I had previously
Upon restoring normalcy, I took the opportunity to photocopy all important identification cards then stored them in a secure place

This mishap was a real wakeup call for me. I stood to lose a great deal - if even only in the short term - had that personal information fallen into the wrong hands. I figured I'd post my experiences, since I was as thorough as I could be. If anyone has any other such experiences and wants to share additional precautions that you've taken, please comment below. Thanks in advance!

Posted at 09:06 pm by Joseph Bachana

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Another story . . .

Submitted by Cecilia Pineda Feret (not verified) on Wed, 11/19/2008 - 14:51.

Great story and tips, Joe. Which reminds me of mine . . .Back when I was in charge of 5 businesses and two children under the age of 5, I lost my CREDIT CARD wallet, I keep cash separately, not once, not twice, but thrice! in one year. Bags, kids, packages, caps, steps, etc. Each time there was no hanky panky with the info . . .and I rewarded (a plant, wine, money)each person who called me every time I got my cards back. I have lost track of how many wallets and phones I have returned at this point. Could it be karma? Or whatever you call it . . .I have also had my purse stolen twice in 3 years. Lost $50 cash the first time and caught them red handed the second time. I started to photocopy my stuff, then stopped over time as I got new cards and info . . .But this is definitely a wakeup call to get it all copied and then just put it away. Thanks for the reminder. Cecilia PS, with this frigid weather, I am very ready for a tea or cafe au lait as you had suggested. Your call . . . so to speak. You can fill me in on th 25th year reunion plans . . .

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