Zoo animals, and people that belong in cages

We had a great time at the zoo today! The elephants were trumpeting-something we've never seen them do before, and the polar bear was swimming....lots of activities, and we enjoyed our friends company as well.

Then we came home.

I got a call from one of my credit card companies.....someone had stolen my card! Not only that, but they had tried to access some cash advances, increase my credit line, and make some major purchases and were able to provide my mother's maiden name, and my SSN as verification of being "me"! How they were able to get this, and in so short a time, I'll never know, but the likely culprit was my PDA which I had in my purse. I have to emphasize that I had NOT noticed anything stolen....the car did not have any signs of break in, and there were other cards in my purse that were not taken, so it's all very confusing. I usually put credit cards in my fanny pack, and I did put money, license, and debit card in there for sure....but I can't specifically remember putting the cards in there, so I might have left them in my purse.

So, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone, calling the credit bureau to place a fraud report on my credit line. I had to call the police and make a report as well. Then a second card called to also verify some fraudulent charges, so I called all my accounts and put them under "compromised" status. Fortunately, I will not be liable for any of the charges, but tomorrow I have to call my investment accounts to make sure they are protected, and file a complaint with the FTC, and get a copy of my police report for future if needed. AGH! So, lesson learned and to share with you....don't use your mother's maiden name as a security question for your accounts. This info is too easily obtained on the web...the advice on the identity theft websites all says to use some made up word that only you would know....and make sure that you have a security password package on your PDA's!

Hey, if anyone is out there reading this, please post a comment to the comment section below. I just want to make sure that I have the settings correct and it will let anyone post a reply. If you get a message that you can't, then please email me and let me know! Thanks. Always trying to learn and improve how to work this blog!