The Evolution of Home Invasions: Thieves Want Your Data
One weekend my roommate and I were running separate errands and I had came home first to find a screwdriver on the back table and the sliding glass door wide open. I thought it was weird, but figured she must have been in a hurry and went on inside without a second thought. My dog wouldn’t come out of my bedroom and was lying on the bed, both uncharacteristic. I went over and sat down and started to pet her and noticed my laptop was missing.
At first, I figured my roommate borrowed it; we worked at the same company and had the same portal for work, so I thought maybe she had forgotten hers. So I called her and asked her when she was coming home and why she took my laptop. She said she didn’t have it. Then I said “You know you left the back door wide open,” and then all of a sudden panic hit me. Was someone in the house with me still?
So, I did exactly what they do on TV and started looking around the house. My roommate told me to go in her room and of course, her laptop was stolen as well, along with some jewelry tossed around the room. We called the police and they basically told us there was nothing we could do.
I was planning to close on my house the next week so I had a lot more money in my bank account than I normally did. When talking with my boyfriend, he told me I needed to contact my banks, credit cards, etc. I sort of dismissed it because for one thing, it was a work computer and not my personal one. Well, I was very wrong.
I got to work on Monday and after getting my replacement laptop and a long lecture from IT, I logged in to find that my money was missing from my account. I FREAKED OUT! I immediately drove to the bank, forget calling, I needed to see them in person.
They had noticed fraudulent activity on my account through various ways (I never bothered to listen, I wanted my money) so they froze my account automatically. Thank goodness my bank had systems in place because I sure didn’t.
What I didn’t know at the time is that it just takes a small amount of information for a skilled thief to use and run with it and steal your money, your identity, and your details that are near and dear to you. What I’ve learned since then is that it’s so easy for thieves, even small petty neighborhoods ones to have information about you that can be used to steal your identity.
Now while my money was recovered, I dealt with all the credit card companies, banks, DMV and every other entity I could think of that might have been hit by this criminal who took my laptop. I was one of the fortunate ones that I didn’t save my passwords, or have a spreadsheet of accounts or have links to my financial resources, etc. since it was a work computer.
But take it under advisement to be very smart and safe with your information, protect yourself and do not allow too much personal information out of your hands, ever.