my home was broken into last night

[fenster]

my time to write up this post is a bit limited, so I'll post the executive summary and fill in details later when I have more time.

first, a question for people with knowledge and experience in this area: my SSN was on a laptop that was taken. now that I must assume that my SSN is out in the wild, what are my first actions to guard myself?


executive summary:
I live alone, in a home in a decent neighborhood. I arrived home late last night to see the livingroom turned upside down, and lights on in the stairway and upstairs. I retreated to my car and backed up half a block or so and called 911. PD arrived in 15min, I briefed them and they (team of 2) cleared the home. I was given the all clear and started taking inventory. perp(s) gained entry via the doggy-door in my garage. it turns out small, portable items were taken. 2 laptops, ipod, previous android phone, xbox (non-functional), wii, and a military duffel to carry it all in. PD took prints where they could, took their time to try and id any likely perps, as well as answer any questions I had. sitting in my tossed living room, I found myself grateful I didn't arrive with the break-in in progress, and have to perforate anyone.

thanks for any advice and insight. more details to follow.

[GlockDude26]

very sorry to hear, and it sounds like you did the right thing legally. I just had all 4 tires and wheels stolen a couple of weeks ago and I know the "i've been violated" feeling you must be feeling and it's not fun. I've learned from my lack of being prepared error and since then have taken measures to deter and prevent this from happening again. hopefully you can and will do the same! most home burglars will be caught eventually bc they get lazy and develop a pattern and it's only a matter of time before they get caught. my neighborhood had 5 break ins in under a month and it turned out to be a single perp who couldn't get a job because was already a convicted felon by the ripe ol age of 17. He was caught on his way to rob another house by a patrol officer who picked him up on previous warrants and knew the kid by first name (he'd been arresting him since he was 14) and of course like many criminals their mindset and attitude is "well them rich folks can afford to replace their stuff so I'm not hurting anybody"

[Keith B]

Inventory for insurance claim. Make sure they already know about the break in and that you will be providing inventory and police report to them. Block doggy door. There have been a WHOLE lot of these type of break in's lately where the perps are gaining access through pet doors. Use your alarm system and if you don't have motion sensors, get some.

[RPBrown]

Get a big dog for that doggie door.

At my house the BG would probably drown before he could get through the door from getting slobery kisses. Once inside though, he may be in trouble from the other one.

[bdickens]

It just adds to the insult that they had to steal your duffel bag to but the stuff in, I think.

[mewalke]

I would call your bank, credit card company, and one of the credit agencies and put a fraud alert on your accounts and social. I think they last 30 or 60 days and they will prevent anyone from trying to use your social to take out any debt without taking extra steps to validate your identity. Plus who knows how smart the perps are (or the people who buy the stolen items) and there may be other personal info on those computers such as bank account numbers, passwords etc...

edit: also change your passwords to all email, financial websites etc... in case you have them "remembered" on your laptop. That will prevent them from easily accessing more of your personal info.

[baldeagle]

To answer your question about the SSN, the perp will most likely sell the laptop for cash. The buyer may or may not be interested in its contents.

I had an identity theft attempt two years ago. I learned all this during that process.

1) Contact any one of the three credit bureaus and ask them to put a fraud alert on your account immediately. Do not let them charge you for this. They may ask for a copy of the police report.

2) The fraud alert lasts for 90 days unless you renew it. Renew it at least once.

3) Get copies of your credit report from each of the three bureaus; Equifax, Transunion and Experian. Since you have the police report, they have to provide you with copies on request during the alert period.

4) Request one each month for the next six months.

5) Look for any credit applications from places you don't recognize. Report those to the police and ask that they be added to the report.

6) If they actually try to obtain credit in your name, update your fraud alert to a seven year alert. They cannot charge you for this when you have a police report. A seven year fraud alert prevents anyone from getting credit in your name without the credit grantor first contacting you on the phone number that you authorize and asking you questions to which only you should know the answers.

7) Make sure that all three credit reports are accurate. Credit bureaus will change your address without your knowledge if an application for credit comes in with a different address. They assume you've moved.

8) Search for your SSN on google. If you find it, you're at risk of having identity theft attacks. Your name, address and DOB can probably be found online as well. With your SSN, they have everything they need to open revolving credit accounts at gas stations, retail outlets, etc. and apply for major credit cards.

[fenster]

thank you everyone for the kind thoughts and detailed information!

in addition to getting my regular work stuff done today, I now have a number of side actions that need doing, so my participation on this thread will be limited and brief.


but again, thanks.

[MotherBear]

Something to consider might be signing up for identity theft insurance. I know Dave Ramsey recommends these guys, and I think my in-laws use them: http://www.zanderins.com/idtheft/idtheft.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I need to remind my husband that we've talked about it but never gotten around to it. They advertise that not only will they cover you financially, they'll also do all the work to clean up the mess if you get your identity stolen. The latter would be my primary motivator! I don't think it would be too late to sign up for protection from this incident. My in-laws first signed up when my FIL's company had some laptops stolen and the company paid for identity theft insurance for a few years for all the employees who might have been compromised.

In any case, best of luck getting this all sorted out with police and insurance and everyone else involved.

[RJGold]

2) The fraud alert lasts for 90 days unless you renew it. Renew it at least once.

My wife's purse was stolen more that 10 years ago. We put a fraud alert in place as you described. It's still in place. I am not sure if there is a process for a permanent fraud alert (we certainly didn't do it intentionally) but somehow we seem to have one.

It's worth the nuisance of having to go through the extra steps (answer the questions) anytime we want new credit established to keep some thief from being able to do it.

I agree 100% with putting the fraud alert in place!!!

[CHLLady]

Sorry to hear this! Glad you are well and didn't arrive in the middle of it.

I'd like to recommend security cameras. They work! You need minimum 8 cameras to properly cover the perimeter of your home.

There are some great camera systems. I recommend Nightowl. Their American based customer service is excellent. 24/7/365. Great how to videos on their website. I'd try Amazon, SAMs, or Costco online for better deals. You can use their app to check cameras while away from home.

Thank you Motherbear for sharing that link. I'm going to share this with hubby. I think we will do this. Do they do the same as the other identity theft company?

[baldeagle]

Thank you Motherbear for sharing that link. I'm going to share this with hubby. I think we will do this. Do they do the same as the other identity theft company?

I've had Lifelock for years now. It sounds like this company is doing the same thing as Lifelock. When I had my ID theft incident, they followed up on every single credit application and made sure they were shut down, that nothing happened, and that the police report included that information.

[snatchel]

Time for a big dog[googlevideo][/googlevideo] and upgraded alarm system. With your know-how and some mounted webcams/pc, video surveillance throughout your home would likely be inexpensive.

[gigag04]

That laptop got traded or pawned for crack already. Do you have the SN off of it? Get itto the PD so it will show up in TCIC and the pawn ticket system.

[drjoker]

get rid of the doggie door. get a real dog (your dog obviously did not stop the perps). get an alarm system, fees are as low as $18 per month (smith thompson $18, adt $38). get lifelock for you lost ssn.