About a year ago, me and my friend Tim would talk about what we hear on tv about identity theft and how the chances of it happening to one of us were really low. I remember when we every time we used to talk about it Tim would say, " I'm never going to be dumb enough to let that happen to me and I guarantee it never will". We just assumed the people that it happened to must have just done something dumb and that the news put cases of identity theft on the news often just to scare people.
Unfortunately, we soon found out just how wrong we actually were. One day, me and Tim decided to go to the store to buy some food and stuff for our apartment. When we went to the register to pay for it Tim's credit card ended up getting declined. He didn't understand how seeing as to how his parents had just put money in his account and he hadn't spent any since they did. So he ended up calling the bank to find out exactly what was going on with his account. To our surprise, the bank told Tim he had recently made purchases in three other states. They explained to him that the person that got his information got it from an online site that he ordered from and warned him to be aware of some online sites that aren't well know and used. He had to go through a pretty lengthy process that involved getting his money back, shredding his current credit card, and having to wait about two weeks just to get another one sent to him. Tim had officially become a victim of what we call "Identity Theft".
Some people think Identity theft to be a joke and don't think that it can happen to just anyone. I share this story with you today in hoping you realize we are all at risk of Identity theft at any point in time in our lives no matter how careful you may think you are. It's always good to acknowledge the dangers out there in the world. Be careful, protect yourself, be aware of the dangers, and be prepared for the worst to happen. After all, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
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ReplyDeleteI think the same is true when people create online profiles. We assume that because there are so many people who are purchasing, talking, etc. online, we have as much of a chance at being a victim of what you discussed as we do at winning the lottery.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the same topic this week. I like how you used a personal story to show how frequently identify theft happens, and how it can really happen to anyone, at any time. It just goes to show you that you can't have the mentality of "it will never happen to me," because as you described, it really can.
ReplyDeleteThanks for anecdote. I agree that the it'll never happen to me mentality seems to be pervasive, especially among younger generations. As our finances our transitioning more and more to the digital world, its definitely important to remember stuff like this really does happen.
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