Stop Thief!

Monday night, I went to Arby's. Eric had been laying under his Big Brown Ford for about 4 hours and was in desperate need of food. I, being tired and hungry myself, jumped in the car and headed 2 blocks away for Roast Beef and Mozz Sticks. But, funny thing, my debit card was declined. I should have been thinking. Oh - what I wouldn't give for my brain to have been turned on that night! Instead, I pulled out my cash, after saying to the cashier, "Hmmm...that's funny." I knew we had money in our account and hadn't gone over the magical "daily spending limit" but in my hunger-induced brain freeze, I didn't think about it again... that is, not until we couldn't find Eric's wallet Tuesday morning before work.
The statistics are that 1 in 12 people will have their identity compromised every year - let's put it this way - 11 of you are don't have to worry about stolen identity this year! Eric has made your chances much slimmer.
Debit Card Info: Every charge that thieves make on your debit card before you report it stolen still gets charged to your account. Then you have to dispute them all to VISA and may get your money back in 60-90 days. So, don't think that those charges will disappear just because you tell a customer service rep that they are fraudulent.
Those thieves spent $700 of our hard earned money at gas stations and grocery stores. How do you spend $120.00 at a gas station? You would have to fill 4 of your closest friends' gas tanks to spend that much money - or buy really expensive alcohol! These were professionals - they maxed out our daily limit on our debit card and then turned to Eric's work cards. What a pain! So, if you're reading this, do these 3 things:
1. Make copies (front and back) of EVERY card in your wallet. Store in a safe place.
2. If you have a little extra money and no extra time, sign up for an identity insurance plan - they take care of all the calling and fraud reporting.
3. Keep your wallet/purse with you at all times - don't let it sit anywhere out of your sight for even a minute!
I hope and pray this will never happen to ANY of you and that your identities are safe this whole year!