It began with a 5 a.m. phone call; a police detective asked if I knew the whereabouts of my vehicle.

Portable phone in hand, I walked to the garage to feel the crisp November breeze through the open garage door.

“No, but I’m guessing you do.” I replied.

“Yes, Mr. Willman- it’s up on blocks at Pioneer Park… do you know if anything else is missing?”

I surveyed the house; to my relief everyone was safe and accounted for.

I looked at our other two vehicle, almost with pity; like passed over prom dates… didn’t the thieves notice their beauty- like I did?

This was the opening scene to several months of annoyance.

By 5:20 a.m. we were receiving phone calls from the credit card companies.

The thieves had not only stolen one car; they also managed to find two purses… one belonging to my daughter- the other my wife. Out there somewhere was my “new” wife. With access to identification and a few cards, she tested the gas station at 4:10 a.m. by making a small purchase.

Good! The card worked! The grocery store was next. Within an hour we had charges on two credit cards and one debit card. Each transaction was below $200 but there were so many of them.

“Evidently my new wife had a lot of purchases to make.” This was what I said to myself… not disclosing the apprehension that comes with such crimes. One can’t help but feel violated. In discussions with the detectives we were informed that this crime was most likely premeditated. The thieves struck quickly because they knew what they were after. They had broken into my daughter’s car to steal the garage door opener. With that in hand they opened the garage and took the car. The thieves were in luck- it was a rare night in which my wife had left her purse in the front seat.

We were thankful that we’d dead-bolted the door that connects the garage to the home. Who knows what horrors could have awaited us. We called a locksmith who changed all the locks.

We spent the morning cancelling credit cards and requesting new ones. This was surprisingly simple. The banking was more difficult. While your credit card company typically restores your funds quickly upon proof that a crime was committed the banks tend to open an investigation. Even so, it would take a few days to receive replacement cards.

Bank funds are not so quickly restored. We discovered that we’d basically be living off of cash-on-hand. With Thanksgiving days away this proved to be a lesson in patience. It’s surprising what a family of eight requires over a five day period- the amount of time it took for us to officially have access to our cash and credit.

I have to hand it to the Mesa police department. Though our car was stolen at 4 a.m. the officers had a suspect in custody by midnight. When she was apprehended the police discovered she had two large three ring binders full of identification. She had someone’s identification card on her scanner; she was making supplementary identification. With this she could apply for other services and credit using her own picture. Under the influence of meth she could work many hours straight in her i.d. theft business. Her operation was organized and, apparently quite successful.

Fortunately Identity theft carries a stiffer penalty. Our thief spent the holidays behind bars…. And, with the new laws in place, she’ll continue to do so for several more years. We’re thankful for that- at least she won’t be able to pull the same scams on anyone else for a while.

We spent several months fully restoring our credit. My latest estimate was 140 hours… time I could have spent doing other things- amongst them, earning a living. I felt for a while as if I was working two jobs.

This is ID Theft. This is our story. Now that you know the personal side:

• What can you do to help prevent this from happening to you?

• What steps do you take if it does happen?

Prevention:

• Do not leave garage door openers or keys inside vehicles that are not safely within a garage.

• Employ locks on your garage doors… we didn’t even know ours had them.

• Keep your keys and identification away from “easy access” locations.

• Check into services that your bank or Credit Card Company offers that can lock down your credit sooner when “triggers” occur.

• Keep a supply of cash or other liquid assets in a safe place- perhaps a safe deposit box (check bank rules first).

• With this cash, keep a list of all your personal accounts- along with phone numbers and other account information.

Remedy:

• File a police report- they’ll offer you a case number. Have this with you for the many calls you’ll be making.

• Call every company with which you have financial obligations. Make them aware that your identity has been compromised and make any necessary changes to the company information. This group includes banks, credit card companies, insurance, 401k, stocks, utilities, etc.

• Retrieve your working cash from storage- be frugal… you may have more expenses over the next coming days than you would under normal conditions.

• Acquire a new driver’s license and open new accounts with your bank and credit card companies. This includes membership clubs like Costco and Sam’s club. Basically you’ll want new account numbers with anyone that offers identification cards.

• Choose a reputable company for credit monitoring; be sure that the major credit bureaus are monitored…. this includes: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Further Educational Resources:

There are many companies that specialize in ID theft prevention and account maintenance. Be aware that some of these will be less than reputable. It can feel like a second theft dealing with the pure opportunists that offer little in the way of services.

One great resource for ID theft is the federal government’s web site. The Federal Trade Commission has created a program called “Defend”… you can visit it here: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft.

Epilogue:

It has been nearly two years since our ID Theft case. We’re a little wiser for the experience and we appear to have everything in check. We’re the fortunate ones. Our theft was minor and the apprehension and prosecution of the culprit was swift. However, we wish we knew then what we know now… maybe we wouldn’t have had to learn this lesson the hard way.

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Chuck Willman is a real estate agent based in Arizona’s Phoenix metro area. He can be found at http://www.AZvest.com.