I swore I would never be victim to identity theft. I was way too smart for that! I get emails all the time and laugh at those scammers that send emails asking to verify your name, address, birthday, license number...ask for money. All those scams I've dodged...until today!
I received a message on FB from a friends father, whom I've met, and I trust. He casually wrote me asking how I'm doing, etc. then he introduced me to this investment idea which actually seemed a little "too good to be true", but I've honestly been struggling a little with money lately, so anything right now seems amazing. He wrote explaining that I invest some money which basically triples on investment...no its not crypto currency, it was something else, something that I should have listened to my gut about, but went with it anyway...
So it went like this...tag team. Friends dad writes me on fb messenger, meanwhile his "investor friend" starts messaging me directly on my cell phone. He explained how the investment would work, but how its kinda like a NY monopoly, so I have to give my information to see if ill be approved. Name, address, birthday, email, income and the kicker, the picture of my I.D....now just by coincidence, I actually LOST my I.D. in NYC this week, so I've been using my passport as my secondary form. When this "investor" asks for my I.D. i just sent a picture of my passport instead...now I believed all this because again, my friends dad was writing me directly from his FB messenger...so, it had to be legit right? W R O N G
My friends dad fb account was hacked, and it basically took me all day to figure this out..I finally called my friends dad's son and asked him to call his dad and ask him if he was messaging me, and of course his dad answered him, no. Then I cringed! I was TRICKED!!!!!! My friend explained that one of his dad's accounts hasn't been used in months because he forgot the password, well thats the account the hackers were using...Everything was so believable...the only thing that finally gave it away, is that I had phone numbers, but I couldn't get through by phone to any of them, but the messages on fb and even my messenger were all being read and answered like a regular conversation. The first give away is that the phone numbers were all connected to google voice, and every time I called I received an excuse as to why the phone couldn't be picked up...Now, again it took me all day to realize this, then I fell into a panic remembering that THEY HAVE MY PASSPORT PICTURE!!!!! my passport, my birthday, and my address!!!!
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So now that panic sets in all I can think is fuck fuck fuckkkkkkkk!!!!! So I immediately call "life lock" which is an online notifying service if anyone is to try to use your information, and signed up for a years worth of service, which puts me in the hole $350+ dollars, I called my bank and I also called the passport office to report what has happened...all in the while as they explained to me that my information can and most probably will be sold on the black web...
F
M
L
now what?!!!
I've never been put into this situation before! Identity theft? They can do a lot with this info they just inquired. I also decided to send this person who has been texting me a nice long message explaining they have been reported, and that they will be arrested if my information is used. Now, I'm sure whoever received this message didn't blink because my information was probably already sold hours ago, but it was worth a try...
Now I'm hoping and praying that nothing comes out of this. I'm hoping that this goes no further than me stupidly giving my information to some hacker, but only time will tell. I'm still making a million calls to try to stop these crooks in all angles.
So now that this has happened, heres some useful infomation...
Take steps to protect yourself from identity theft:
• Secure your social security number (SSN). Don’t carry your social security card in your wallet or write your number on your checks. Only give out your SSN when absolutely necessary.
•Don’t respond to unsolicited requests for personal information (your name, birthdate, social security number, or bank account number) by phone, mail, or online.
•Contact the three credit reporting agencies to request a freeze of your credit reports.
•Collect mail promptly. Place a hold on your mail when you are away from home for several days.
•Pay attention to your billing cycles. If bills or financial statements are late, contact the sender.
•Enable the security features on mobile devices, especially if you have contacts, banking websites and applications saved.
•Update sharing and firewall settings when you're on a public wi-fi network. Consider using a virtual private network, which can give you the privacy of secured private network.
•Review your credit card and bank account statements. Promptly compare receipts with account statements. Watch for unauthorized transactions.
•Shred receipts, credit offers, account statements, and expired credit cards, to prevent “dumpster divers” from getting your personal information.
•Store personal information in a safe place at home and at work.
•Install firewalls and virus-detection software on your home computer.
•Create complex passwords that identity thieves cannot guess easily. Change your passwords if a company that you do business with has a breach of its databases
•Review your credit report once a year to be certain that it doesn't include accounts that you have not opened. You can order it for free from Annualcreditreport.com.
Has this happened to anyone else? Comment below!