Wow. What a crappy thing to have happen to you. Wednesday night/Thursday morning I woke up at 3am with that "something isn't right" feeling. Then I realized the time and thought I had a bad dream... or, perhaps it was just simply being awake at this time that "isn't right". That was, until 7:30am.
At 7:30am I heard a hard knock on the door... followed by a ring of the door bell. I peeped out the window to a large, unknown truck and a large, unknown man. With my towel on my head from my shower, I went to get my husband. He went to the door and I heard angry voices. However, try as I might, I could not make out what they were saying.
When my hubby reappeared I asked him what was going on. It was a neighbor. A Good Samaritan in fact that wanted us to know we had been victimized (as he was... hence the angry voice). Someone had gone up and down the street stealing everyone's mail. It was horrible. We knew we were victims too because he had found one of our business envelopes down the street, opened and empty.
Perhaps they were after these elusive "stimulus checks" or perhaps they were simply kids looking for some Net Flicks or other valuables. The hard truth is though; they could also be thieves looking to steal our identity. Both my husband and I were victims of this back in our youthful naive days... we vowed never to go through that nightmare again!
Mail theft is actually a serious problem. If you find yourself a victim, do not take it too lightly. The proper action to take it to get your local postal inspector's phone number and file a formal report. Then, as a precaution (better safe than sorry... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... and all that stuff), go to www.experian.com/fraud. Fill out the Initial Security Alert which puts a preventative hold on your credit for 90 days. You can still get new credit. They just have to call your cell phone and verify it is you trying to get the credit. Experian then notifies the other credit agencies protecting your good name.
Identity theft is a serious problem in this country today. Sadly, the laws have struggled to keep up with it. In my case, I lived in my own home in Arlington and someone had an apartment in Dallas. I called the Alrington Police who said I had to call Dallas. I called the Dallas PD only to be told that I was not the victim. They said my identity had no value. It was the apartment complex which had been defrauded who was the true victim so there was nothing I could do! I could give them the address of the perpetrator and they said "No thank you." It was horrible. Until the law catches up we must look out for each other. When these things happen, and we learn from our mistakes, it is important we share it.
Please, do not leave your mail in the box overnight. Never be too tired to walk out and get it. Next time it could be you!
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Thanks for the reminder! We do try and get our mail daily but will try harder thanks to your blog.