What a way to start the new year…

A friend of mine called me in a frantic this morning.  Her car had been broken into and her purse had been stolen.  I felt so bad for her, what a way to start the new year.  She had no idea what to do, so I tried to walk her through some steps and get her focused.  I even sent her a picture of a piece of paper where I wrote the steps down.  I am by no means an expert and some who is, feel free to chime in, but this is what I thought of to do.

For every person you talk to, write date the following.  This comes from my law firm background of document, document, document.

1. Date
2. Time
3. Name and ID
4. Phone number, extension

This is the advise I gave my friend:

1. Call police – non-emergency number, get a copy of the police report, you will need multiple copies of this for credit card companies, etc
2. Call bank – freeze your accounts, cancel debit/credit cards
3. Call credit card companies – cancel cards/put fraud alerts on your accounts
4. Call credit bureaus and put a fraud alert on for both you and your family members especially children, there may be information in what was stolen for any member of your family.
   1. Equifax 800-685-1111
   2. Experian 888-397-3742
   3. Transunion 888-909-8872
5. If you have a camera on your property, check the footage and provide to police.  Also, ask your neighbors to see if they have cameras that my have footage of the criminals and their vehicles and their coming/going.  Anything may help.  Post the videos on social media and ask others to share.
6. If keys were taken, make sure to get locks changed at home and/or work.  If your car key is lost, get the VIN from the vehicle to see if a new one can be made, order an extra to keep in the house.
7. Notify your insurance agent.  They will probably want a police report.

These are the first things that popped into my head.  I am sure there are other items I missed, but I hope this got her started and the criminals get tracked down.

This is a good reminder, always make sure you make a copy of everything you keep in your purse or wallet and keep a copy at home so that you have quick reference to what may have been taken and phone numbers to call quickly.  Also, never leave any valuables in your car.

#ProtectYourself #IdentifyTheft #HopeThisHelps