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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:07 pm  |
So, about a month or so ago, someone got ahold of my check-card/debit-card information (from my use of it online to purchase products) and used it to drain my bank account until, finally, it ended up being more than $1,000.00 overdrawn! Thank God my bank fixed the problem and shut down that card and sent me a new one, but I was completely without ANY money and unable to access my bank accounts for a good week or two. Nice.
Then I get an e-mail from UCLA (I just graduated there in June) this past Monday - it seems that their computer database was hacked into and over 800,000 people's records and personal information was compromised (name, address, birthdate, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! - you know, all the pertinent information someone would need to completely steal your identity!).
To make matters even worse, this past Friday I get a letter from Aetna Insurance Company (my previous employer's health insurance provider before I began school at UCLA) saying that their headquarters were broken into and someone stole all kinds of computer equipment and backup data containing people's personal information including health/insurance records (again - name, address, birthdate, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!).
I love the fact that these major organizations have such great control over keeping people's personal information secure (*huge amounts of sarcasm here*). I have now been advised that because my personal information has been seriously compromised THREE TIMES in the PAST MONTH AND A HALF that I need to issue a fraud warning to each of the three credit agencies, which is only going to mean a huge hassle for me from this day forward every time I try to buy a car, rent an apartment, apply for credit, etc., etc., etc. *SIGH!*
I suppose I'd rather have the hassle than go to buy a house in a couple years and find out that I already own 5 houses, whose loans I've defaulted on!
Didn't anyone teach these thieving b@stards that they shouldn't take what doesn't belong to them? Were they raised by wolves? No, that's an insult to wolves! Why is it that nowadays these types spend so much time and energy trying to come up with new and creative ways to rip people off? Maybe they should get REAL jobs and use that creativity to do something nice for a change! Obviously, that is too much to expect. I hope they all burn in h3ll!
I am so disgusted! Sorry for the rant, I just needed to vent! Ugghhhhh!  |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:17 pm |
I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you. Talk about the hassle in retrieving your funds! I do a good amount of online shopping and I'm paranoid about checking my online banking statements a few times a week. Your story will make me more paranoid but better safe than sorry. Now i'm wondering if i should keep my credit card number on file at Paypal.  |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:19 pm |
Don't you dare apologize for ranting Mermaid Girl. I'm ranting right there with you and for you. I couldn't agree more - who DO these people think they are screwing with your personal information and your life like that? No morals, ethics, etc...It IS disgusting and I'm so sorry that you're dealing with that right now, though it sounds like you're handling it the best way you can. I wish these idiots could be caught and punished big time.
I hope you recover from this okay.
Maria |
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Maria, early 50's, post meno, normal to dry skin, more dry in winter, some sun damage... |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:20 pm |
| WOW!! What a bad month it's been for you. I'm sorry to hear about all your troubles. And around the holidays too. What ba$tards. Hopefully they catch the suckers and put them in jail. |
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Global Butterfly & Certified Aromatherapist/Holisitc Therapist with a passion for travel and natural health.  |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:21 pm |
Yipes. Not pretty.
Please be sure you contact the credit agencies ASAP. Document every letter, call, names & times. You're 110% correct that it's gonna be a major PITA for you, but you're doing all you can.
Why do they do it? I've actually had the chance to sit & talk with people like this. they do it cuz it's easy & it's the thrill of the gamble. Wanna know the worst part? IF they even get caught, charging them is often reduced from a felony charge & they rarely get jail time. |
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Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. ~ Voltaire www.Candessence.com |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:23 pm |
| OMG that sucks!!! I remember reading about the UCLA thing. Actually Northwestern had something similar happen a few months back, so I had to issue credit alerts, etc, groan!! Thank God I haven't been through anything like you have, MermaidGirl, but my DH had a credit card number stolen once and it was a real pain. Don't let it get you down, and feel free to vent all you want! |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:30 pm |
I'm so sorry you're having to go through this.  You hear so much these days about identity theft, and people stealing pin numbers and stuff like that. It scares me! I can't understand either how anyone could do something so dispicable. How would they feel about someone doing that to them? Some people these days have absolutely no morals or care about anyone else but themselves. You have every right to want to vent about this. Good luck. |
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Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:14 pm |
So sorry to hear of your misfortune Mermaid girl. I really despise thieves!!!! I also wanted to share with you that I have had my identity stolen..several times..including having dealing with the IRS calling me (someone used my SSN when I was 15 yo and didn't report the income...SO the IRS called me). I've had all my employment benefit info stolen..yep from a database. I was even previously married to a veteran who had all of his stuff stolen (from a database, which was recovered later)and it included spousal info. The internet is no safer either..have had my CC # stolen and used that way too. I can go on....it's really sad what this world is coming to.  And you're talking to someone who has gone through training on identity theft so you can rest assured I'm VERY careful. I want you to know that even though I had to contact all credit agencies and place alerts and get a new credit card...all is ok today. Yes it is a PITA, but it hasn't negatively affected my credit or given me hassles obtaining credit. Hang in there girl and again I'm sorry this has happened to you.
It sucks when bad things happen to good people. |
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Early 40's, normal/dry, Oily T zone (summer) fine lines, hyperpigmentation |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 1:40 am |
| I sorry to hear about your awful luck at the moment. You really have to wonder what the world is coming to! |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 2:07 am |
| MermaidGirl wrote: |
| Then I get an e-mail from UCLA (I just graduated there in June) this past Monday - it seems that their computer database was hacked into and over 800,000 people's records and personal information was compromised (name, address, birthdate, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! - you know, all the pertinent information someone would need to completely steal your identity!). |
guess who else was on that list??? and i'm in france right now  . i'm scared to pull any plugs lest i end up without access to cash here.... how painful was it dealing with the credit companies and which one of the 3 did you choose? |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 3:00 am |
| It really sucks that people do this - I shop online a lot and am really paranoid about something happening, I also check my bank / credit card statements continually just in case. I always shred all of my old letters / bills etc as here in the UK they have even had cases where people have stolen documents with personal information out of the trash! Real nice. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:47 am |
| Candy8865 wrote: |
| Why do they do it? I've actually had the chance to sit & talk with people like this. they do it cuz it's easy & it's the thrill of the gamble. Wanna know the worst part? IF they even get caught, charging them is often reduced from a felony charge & they rarely get jail time. |
And THAT is EXACTLY the problem!
I work in business management (accounting) and handle bookkeeping, bill payment, etc for lots of different people. A few times I have had to clean up messes where people have forged checks on my clients accounts for up to $25,000 at a time. Our bank said that, for that "little" money, there would probably be little investigation.
It's crazy when some feel they are ENTITLED to just STEAL what doesn't belong to them. I just don't get it.
I'm so sorry Mermaid and others who have been the victim of this.
Marla |
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Age 41; Oily; Acne prone; Resilient; Currently loving Tazorac, Kate Somerville ExfoliKate and Deep Tissue Repair; Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:23 am |
| I feel so bad for you MermaidGirl - go ahead, rant away! I wholeheartedly agree w/ everything you said, as well as everyone else. I know I'm scared to death to order anything/give info over the web. Hang in there - I guess this is one of life's little lessons designed to make us stronger |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:27 am |
I relate to this totally It is a complete violation!!!!! I had my home burglarized once and when I had my credit card hijacked I felt the same way I did when my home was broken into! Know that you are definitely not alone!!!! Im super cautious when Im at the bank machine - my friends think Im nuts but Id rather be paranoid than sorry!!!!
Pudoodles |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:05 am |
This is scary stuff, MermaidGirl. So sorry to hear of it happening to you.
And no, I'm sure they weren't raised by wolves. Anyone raised by wolves would surely behave better than that. They're just absolute scum to do this kind of thing. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:51 pm |
Just terrible! Why can't people get jobs and actually work like the rest of us instead of stealing other people's hard earned money! I am a firm believer in what goes around comes around though, so they'll get theirs... eventually! Hopefully sooner than later!  |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 1:39 pm |
Memaidgirl, my condolences. This is horrible.
I think that this kind of thing is going to keep happening until people start to SUE the establishments that allow our identities to be stolen. Now all the onus is on the consumer to correct the records and get everything straightened out.
We had our debit card info stolen a few weeks ago too, but only one transaction was processed before our credit union contacted us. So we're only out $500 at the moment. Guess I should consider myself lucky. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 1:55 pm |
That is so terrible!  I've questioned whether I should continue to buy products online as well. It's a scarey thing. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 3:35 pm |
| la vie en rose wrote: |
| MermaidGirl wrote: |
| Then I get an e-mail from UCLA (I just graduated there in June) this past Monday - it seems that their computer database was hacked into and over 800,000 people's records and personal information was compromised (name, address, birthdate, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER! - you know, all the pertinent information someone would need to completely steal your identity!). |
guess who else was on that list??? and i'm in france right now . i'm scared to pull any plugs lest i end up without access to cash here.... how painful was it dealing with the credit companies and which one of the 3 did you choose? |
God, La Vie, I was wondering if you'd get the e-mail, too! Wasn't THAT a lovely piece of news? Let me know if there's anything I can help you with in the meantime before you come back to L.A. - if you want me to gather whatever paperwork/information we need to do fraud reports, just let me know and I can send it to you. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 3:49 pm |
Wow, you guys! Thanks SO MUCH for your support, kind words and commiseration! I am truly touched. You have no idea how much it helped me with my stress level just to read your posts!  |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:01 pm |
MermaidGirl, that's just terrible and you're so right that these corporations are doing us all a disservice by not better safeguarding our personal data.
I live in the Washington DC area, where recently there was a huge scandal because a Veterans Administration employee took home a laptop (he was authorized to work at home) that was subsequently stolen. The shocking thing was that the laptop contained personal data for tens of thousands of veterans. I don't think anyone previously would have fathomed that the identities of thousands of people could be compromised by the theft of a single laptop. I can't understand why corporations, federal agencies, and public institutions persist in treating sensitive personal data so casually. It's just inappropriate all around.
Wishing you the best as you sort this all out! |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:14 pm |
So sorry to hear about your experience Mermaidgirl. Believe me its the new generation of fraud and very sophisticated esp as so many companies are outsourcing personal information access across the world.
I have taken off ALL my personal details from school and university databases and have significantly cut down on making purchases using debit and credit cards online. I like to use amex as they are very good with security or reimbursements for anything dodgy. It is worth investing in a small shredder as well to shred anything before putting it out in the trash. This week in London an entire street of households fell victim to identity theft because most of them were on the public Directors register and tended to leave info in the trash. Imagine that scumbags were able to open back accounts in their name and credit cards.
The best one can do is to be very very careful about personal data. Sadly, some of it is out of our control as we trust the insitutions we share that info with and who is guarding the guards? The last time I came to the USA I felt very uncomfortable about giving my fingerprint at immigration and I wondered how secure is this database that stores this info?
I hope that you are not out of pocket through this and that you manage to sort it out. It's a bleeding shame. |
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35, combo skin, can be acne prone; use Decleor, PSF 02, SKII products and anything that works including ancient voodoo hee hee. London based. |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:16 pm |
Gosh MermaidGirl, how horrible for you. How very very stressful. It is soooo horrible a feeling to feel invaded and ripped off, and to have things be out of one's control.
I'm so sorry.
take care.
xxx |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 8:46 pm |
| MermaidGirl, you have every right to vent. A couple of years back, someone got a hold of my credit card number (I have no clue how) and maxed it out. I'm the type of person that documents every credit card transaction in a log and then reconciles it with my credit card statement when it comes in. I was trying to pay for a visit at the dentist and was told that my card was declined. I knew I had the credit available. I called my credit card company and found out that there were multiple transactions made to bigzoo.com ($70 something every day for a week). I made my bf check out the website and prayed that it wasn't some ------------ site. It turned out to be a site similar to eBay. To make a long story short, I got issued a new card and ever since that incident, I shred everything that has any personal information on it. |
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34, oily acne-prone skin, Toronto, Canada |
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Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:42 pm |
| shanno wrote: |
I live in the Washington DC area, where recently there was a huge scandal because a Veterans Administration employee took home a laptop (he was authorized to work at home) that was subsequently stolen. The shocking thing was that the laptop contained personal data for tens of thousands of veterans. I don't think anyone previously would have fathomed that the identities of thousands of people could be compromised by the theft of a single laptop. |
This is what I was referring to that happened to me in my previous posting. Thank God they recovered the laptop...BUT personal info was out there. This is our government...how scary!!! |
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Early 40's, normal/dry, Oily T zone (summer) fine lines, hyperpigmentation |
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