quote:Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed.
Clearly, Othello didn't have to deal with the DMV.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Blech! I'm sorry someone did such a crappy thing to you. Good job on alllll of that stuff you've fixed (as much as it can be "fixed") already. You are on fire!
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Thanks. I still haven't made it in to work (that was supposed to be after the DMV, which was supposed to be after the locksmith), so I'll need to go in for a couple hours.
DMV will have to be before work tomorrow, if the lines aren't too horrible. Can't stay too late -- Big Government Agency comes at 10:30, so I'd best be in no later than 9:30.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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New cell phone, check. (With bluetooth, yay! With camera, meh.) Now I just have to re-enter 100+ numbers . . . I just hope I have 'em all elsewhere.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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How terrible! I'm sorry this happened. I wish I could say something helpful, but I'm always at a loss where practical, real-world matters are concerned. I wouldn't know what to do.
This does, however, reinforce the fact that the people who make fun of me for being a compulsive door-locker are wrong, and I am right. I lock my apartment door when I go to do laundry. I also lock it as soon as I've stepped inside. I lock my car door when I go inside to pay for gasoline, and before I even start the car when I'm about to drive somewhere. The only time my doors are unlocked is when I am in the act of passing through them. I've never had anything stolen from me, so some people feel I'm just being paranoid, but this just goes to show that a door only has to be unlocked for a moment for bad things to come of it.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Verily, I'm with you with the compulsive locking. Subjected me to many mocks, but whatever. I've still had stuff stolen, but that also took ruining my door and door frame in the process. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Tough news Rivka. I hope the worst is over.
I have to make a real effort to remember to lock doors. Mind you, we lost a Christmas present from our post box this year, so even our tiny village is not immune to crime. Sad but true.
Good luck with all the replacements.
Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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I'm probably late in saying this now -- and I know nothing of your neighborhood -- but usually theives take what they want from a purse (credit cards, cash) and then dump the rest in a local dumpster, rather than risk being seen carrying it around.
If you had looked into dumpsters near you right after it happened, you MIGHT have found at least some of your stuff. You never know.
But I'm glad you're getting everything taken care of so promptly and thoroughly. I think this is an educational thread.
quote:Originally posted by Farmgirl: If you had looked into dumpsters near you right after it happened, you MIGHT have found at least some of your stuff.
We checked all the garbage cans (not really much in the way of dumpsters right nearby, but lots of garbage cans in the alley) yesterday morning. No luck.
quote: I didn't register them online. I'm not even entirely sure what stores they were for -- I just know I had a couple in there. (That's how I usually redeem my cashback bonus from Discover.)
Since you got them through Discover, I'm sure they have records of what cards you got. They might be able to cut off the ones that were stolen and send you new ones.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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The idea of someone just randomly opening a front door and grabbing what they want is pretty mind-boggling to me. I mean, who thinks of doing that?? Do they just saunter down the street testing every door to see if it's unlocked? Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Or they could just see the kids bounding out the door and not locking it behind themselves, I guess.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote: I didn't register them online. I'm not even entirely sure what stores they were for -- I just know I had a couple in there. (That's how I usually redeem my cashback bonus from Discover.)
Since you got them through Discover, I'm sure they have records of what cards you got. They might be able to cut off the ones that were stolen and send you new ones.
That's a thought. I will look into that -- thanks.
quote:Originally posted by Nell Gwyn: The idea of someone just randomly opening a front door and grabbing what they want is pretty mind-boggling to me. I mean, who thinks of doing that?? Do they just saunter down the street testing every door to see if it's unlocked?
Crime stats certainly indicate that some people do. It's part of why neighborhood watch programs are effective.
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: Or they could just see the kids bounding out the door and not locking it behind themselves, I guess.
Also a possibility. We had a Conversation today.
In the race to get me replacement credit cards, Discover wins. By a mile! They told me I'd have the new one by Thursday, overnighted on Wednesday.
It came today. Go Discover!
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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What a pain! I'm sorry to hear this Rivka. Sounds like you got it pretty well covered though.
I've seen people going through parking lots checking for unlocked doors. I guess this is pretty much the same thing. There're all kinds of people out there.
Posts: 3735 | Registered: Mar 2002
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My little wallet full of pictures. Most of which are irreplaceable. A picture of my dad at age two with his grandfather, senior-year pictures of classmates from high school (with notes on the back), pictures of my kids from when they were little (and school pictures) that I have no other copies of.
posted
My license and credit card were found. They were found on a guy who was arrested because he not only burgled a house, but molested a kid who lived there. That means it could easily have been have been one of my kids in that situation!!! *gets the shakes*
Thank God, all he took from my place was my purse. He's in custody, and in another state. And, at least I'll get my license back . . .
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
If you haven't already, I would suggest going to the three credit services and signing up for an identity theft alert (sometimes called fraud alert). While the theft of the other things is bad, identity theft can be much worse.
They should all give you a 90-day alert, where any creditors will need to contact you before they can make changes to your credit. You have to fill out forms to get a longer alert put on, but it's worth it.
Each credit reporting agency is also required to offer you one free credit report per year. If you space them out, you can keep a fairly close watch. Good idea to do this as well.
posted
Paying for identity theft protection from a credit bureau seems like paying extortionists for me. FWIW, I think that's an awful suggestion.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I'll discuss it with the detective when I talk to him later today. He was really nice when I spoke to him last night -- and this was on his personal cell phone, and I'm fairly certain he was off-duty when we spoke. Definitely one of the good guys. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Thank goodness the jerk's been caught and your stuff is retreived. I wish he'd been caught sooner, though, that poor kid...
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I asked about the rest of my stuff. The only things of mine that he had were my license, one credit card, and my checkbook.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
If he had your driver's license, it was probably so that he could use your credit card. Does that mean he spent a lot of time wearing headscarves?
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Primal Curve: If he had your driver's license, it was probably so that he could use your credit card. Does that mean he spent a lot of time wearing headscarves?
Except that he clearly was aware that I had cancelled the card. (Why did he not then toss it? Search me.) I appreciate the visual, though!
posted
Wow, rivka. I've been the victim of a few petty crimes, but never something like this. What an awful experience. I'm so sorry. I'm glad they caught the guy.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Are they sure that the man they have in custody is the man who stole your purse? He could have stolen them off the man/woman who originally stole them from your house, it's not like thieves are impervious to theft or mugging.
But beside that, I am VERY glad the found some of your things, let us hope this is the end of the matter neh?
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Icarus: Paying for identity theft protection from a credit bureau seems like paying extortionists for me. FWIW, I think that's an awful suggestion.
Setting up an identity theft alert on your credit reports is free. There are services for a fee that go further, if you choose to use them.
I've had my identity stolen, and from my point of view, spending $15 a month to make sure that never happens again is well worth it. The months of time and effort it took me to get things back in order were insane, and I was one of the lucky ones, in that I actually got my credit restored. Lots of people have it worse than I did.
I think of it like credit insurance. I pay health insurance every month, but it's not extortion, it's so if something really bad happens, I'm somewhat protected.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I don't know about the service you're using, but there was a study of identity theft protection/insurance programs a while back which found they (edit: that is, the several prominent services being studied) offered no meaningful additional protection against identity theft or strong assurance of reimbursement for actual damages due to identity theft.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I'm not actually using an identity theft insurance program, simply a service that keeps tabs on my various credit scores, and sends me an email if any changes occur, so I can verify that they're authorized. That way if anything funny happens, I can catch it immediately, and stop it before any real damage happens.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: Are they sure that the man they have in custody is the man who stole your purse?
Given that he is believed to also have burgled a number of houses within a few blocks of here, I think it's a safe bet.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Because your social security card was in your wallet as well I would strongly recommend you notify the three credit bureaus about the theft. That way you can be alerted to any new cards/accounts being opened in your name. In the future leave the SS card in a lockbox at home and only bring it out when you need it for employment etc.
Sorry this happened to you. Thankful he only stole your person and not your child's innocence. Scary world we live in!
Posts: 1132 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Please note the date. That's right, exactly one month (to the day) from when I first tried to make a police report, I finally successfully did so. Only took intervention from a police department in another state (in addition to several voicemail messages from me). In the defense of the LAPD, both the detective who called me at work today (the one whose voicemail I left a message on Tuesday night, when I got home at 10 pm and discovered that officers had come by at 5:30 . . . without first calling to see if I were home, AGAIN) and the officers who came out tonight were EXTREMELY apologetic.
Apparently the phone system I did battle with is new (and has been at least partially improved since then). And the detective (who was extremely unhappy/embarrassed/pissed about the difficulties I had with this process, and asked for details (and promised to report them to TPTB) of how difficult it was for me to reach an actual person promised that if there were any problem with having officers come to take a report tonight (at the time I said I would definitely be home) he would come in person next week.
Most of what I know about police procedure comes from the In Death books, but even I know detectives don't usually take reports. And not only was he really helpful and apologetic, so were the two officers who came out tonight.
I guess that means the actual people working for the LAPD are good. The phone system and related technology, however . . . Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Waiting until after a criminal is caught to take a report on the crime is like waiting until the end of the day to write a "to do" list. If you only put the finished things on the list, then cross them all off, it feels so much better.
Maybe some of their compensation is dependent on the percentage of crimes solve. 100%! Yup!
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I wish I could say something helpful, but I'm always at a loss where practical, real-world matters are concerned. I wouldn't know what to do.![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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That means it could easily have been have been one of my kids in that situation!!! *gets the shakes*![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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