To the ass-maggot that stole my wife's purse....

As I said, I’m not blaming the victim. There is a difference between blaming the victim and wondering why the victim didn’t take steps to prevent herslef from being victimized. Of course you or any woman should be able to carry around a steamer trunk if you choose and leave it out in plain view of everyone; the plain fact is there are times you can’t, and suggesting that you take steps to reduce the likelihood of being robbed (by not carrying an enormous purse to work if you don’t really have to) really isn’t about assigning blame (unless suggesting that you be aware of the threat to your property and proactively prevent it from happening is “blame,” which it isn’t).

And lest anyone continue to jump down my throat, I carry a small backpack and a gym bag to work every day. So it’s not like I’m travelling light whe I wonder about the necessity of carrying a giant purse.

That sucks. I had my wallet stolen once out of my car when it fell out of my purse onto the floor. I didn’t realize it had fallen out when I grabbed my purse and went in to work, so I didn’t have my car locked, either.

KSO gave you good links so you can report your loss to the credit agencies. Make sure you keep an eye on your credit report in the future. After I had mine stolen I checked it every six months and had a notice to check with me if anyone tried to open any new accounts. I had recently returned from a trip so I had all kinds of ID in my wallet - they got my Social Security card, my driver’s license, even my birth certificate. I got off lucky that they only used my existing cards and checks - they had all the info they needed to open new credit lines and accounts in my name.

It is such a pain in the ass to have this happen, not to mention creepy to see receipts of stuff you never bought and copies of your checks with someone else’s signature on them. Sorry it happened to your wife.

I didn’t mean it to come off in that fashion, Otto, I apologize. I was trying to illustrate why a big bag/case/etc. isn’t necessarily uncommon.

It probably seemed to graceland that it was such a small company with limited “outsiders” that she thought she could trust leaving her purse there for a little while, until she learned otherwise.

** Hi Otto. **

I apologize if it appears that I was jumping down your throat. I wasn’t. I was really, really careless and know that the fault is all mine for the purse theft. It could have been a lot worse.

A short inventory in my purse: digital camera, materials list for the bookshelf I’m building (Mission style-mullioned glass front, way cool!), pictures drawn by homeowners’ kids, complete HO insurance policy because the jerks just cancelled my hurricane insurance and I’m fighting back, photos from a trip to Guatemala, Elvis Costello cd and one homemade cd, recipes, cell phone, hammer, a gazillion Sharpies etc., etc. I just like having these things with me and am somewhat disorganized. I really believe that the size of my purse actually deterred the kid from stealing the whole thing because it certainly wouldn’t fit under his sweatshirt without raising some eyebrows.

Again, my apologies. I usually just lurk on SDMB; however, this thread struck home.

k

When you call the credit people, tell them you want to be notified anytime someone tries to use your SS#. That will include opening an account for a phone, new credit cards, and even when you give your new employer your card. Check every couple of months to be safe.

I just went through the hassle having a new phone line put in, because they needed 2 forms of ID faxed to them and it takes 48 hours to verify. (all because some jerk stole my planner/wallet. It’s better to be safe though.

That really sucks, Diogenes. Be glad you didn’t have lots of cash in there.

I will pray that the jerk gets caught.

regards, JD

Diogenes, I’m really sorry that this happened to you and your wife…that is the pits.

I also live in the Twin Cities and last year there was an alert out through my mom’s group…apparently there are thieves that purposely hit preschool parking lots because they know parents are more likely to leave their cars unlocked and their purses/valuables in the car since they are just “running in” to pick up their child. (I know I have been guilty of this myself a time or two.) You might think about contacting the school and letting them know this happened. It may have happened to other parents too, and perhaps they want to have someone keep an eye on the parking lot during drop off/pick up time for anybody suspicious lurking around.

I’m sorry this had to happen to you.

hill

Update: Whoever it was used our cash card to empty our account last night. I don’t know how but they got over a thousand dollars out of our checking account. We’ll get it back. We reported the theft in time and we don’t have any liability but at the moment we have a balance of negative three dollars.

The bank wants us to wait and see if any phony checks turn up before they change the account. We just went through this last month with a stolen checkbook (it fell out of my jacket pocket at a supermarket parking lot. More stupidity on my part, I know) so the bank is kind of pissed at us.
Lieu:

no, no security cameras. No kind of surveillance at all unless you count little kids peeking out the windows.
JD, thanks for the advice and the kind words…and the prayers.

how could they use your bank card w/o a pin number???

hill:

Yeah, that’s exactly what I’ve been hearing today. I wish I’d known about it before. We definitely did inform the pre-school and I noticed a couple of teachers watching the lot tonight at pickup time.

I’ve been entertaining fantasies of lurking around the parking lot and catching the bastards in the act. Of course, I’d probably just get my ass kicked. At least that’s what my wife says.

It’s amazing how one’s perspective on capital punishment can be changed by something like this. Burning at the stake doesn’t sound so terrible any more. :wink:

Please tell me you didn’t have the pin number written on the card, or in the purse somewhere.

We don’t know. All we know is that there was somehow a debit made last night for $1030.00. The bank says we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out how and where it was withdrawn. It might not have been cash. It might have been a purchase.

And no, we did NOT have the pin written down anywhere. We’re not complete idiots.

Where’s Total Information Awareness when you need it?

Dio, No matter how piss’d the bank is with you, you can’t be held liable for over $50 of fraudulent charges (unless you knew the card was stolen but didn’t report it, which isn’t the case).

You prolly know this already, but I didn’t want those bastards giving you extra grief.

Okay, I hope you get all the dough back and I sympathize with your loss and anger.

But…I just GOTTA say this…{Al Capp hat ON}…are you guys conservatives now?

{Al Capp hat OFF}

Possum, I know that. The bank is just suggesting that maybe they won’t let us open a new account but just give us our money and give us the boot. It doesn’t bother me as long as we get our money back. There are plenty of other banks around.

Uke:

Not conservative enough to vote for GWB but maybe enough reconsider the death penalty. :wink:

I can’t believe the bank is treating you like this! These things happen and it sucks that it’s happened to you twice but it’s certainly not your fault.

There was a case of identity theft at a library in the system I work in. Someone on staff got hold of another staff person’s social security number and started getting credit cards and running them up. She was caught and it was taken care of, but the police actually told the director of the library that he should have a policy about it that employees would have to sign off on when they’re hired because it would make it easier for them to prosecute, and so the employee would know it’s wrong to do this! Since when do we have to have policies that essentially say, “if you do something illegal, you will get in trouble for it–sign here to prove that you know that.”

I hope they’re able to track the person down, Dio. Now that they’ve used your card, they’ll probably find out who it is.

I thought he was being quite pragmatic about the whole thing, really.

Such things as card readers exist, so pin numbers are not safe. Its very important to keep cash and credit cards safe these days :frowning: … They are not as safe as they once where.

FTR, I’ve been able to use my debit card WITHOUT having to enter a PIN number for a purchase. It’s entirely possible.

Dio, hope you and the missus are doing ok - this must just entirely and naturally suck.

I’ve also run into some places that will allow you to change your PIN on your ATM card if you tell them you forgot it. Guess what form of ID you need to change it? Your SSN. Which Dio tells us the Bad Guys had.

Sorry to hear about it, Dio, and I sincerely hope the Bastards Are Caught And Executed. So to speak.

(I can sympathize - my wallet was once stolen out of a locked drawer at work with my co-worker being the ONLY other person with a key. No “proof” that she took it, though, so I couldn’t do anything about it. I was lucky and got my wallet back with everything intact except the money - and that was only ten bucks.)