How to Avoid Being Robbed
Kristan Dael
50plus Magazine
Part 2
In Nov ’21, we shared Vancouver resident Sophia Miles’s* experience of being robbed last June, and what she’d learned about personal protection since. Her story continues here.
One detail often missed: when replacing your driver’s license, Sophia recommends requesting a new number and notifying local dealerships. Any dealership can replicate keys, she says, and her assailants were able to obtain a replicate of hers.
In addition to issuing a new license number, the DMV can flag a vehicle’s VIN showing the owner was robbed. This alerts dealerships to check not only ID/license, but with the DMV.
Sophia’s lessons have been many, and we’re taking them by subject to make it easiest to incorporate best practices. Today we move on to the subject of protecting your credit.
Sophia (along with many experts) recommends freezing your credit reports — not when something happens, but now. This is done by contacting each credit bureau:
Following are answers to frequently asked questions on freezing credit, from Lifelock.com.
A credit freeze — aka security freeze — restricts access to your credit report, preventing release of your credit score and detailed reports by credit reporting agencies. This makes it difficult for an identity thief to open new lines of credit in your name. A credit freeze does not affect your credit score, and it’s free.
When requesting a freeze, you’ll be asked to provide your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and other personal information. Sophia notes that you’ll be asked to create a password, saying: “This can NEVER be lost or forgotten!!!”
She adds that freezing her credit was “one of the most helpful ways in stopping the thieves from opening other bank accounts, trying to drain my accounts, buying a phone or opening new credit cards.”
You can lift a freeze anytime to provide access to lenders when next applying for credit or something requiring a credit check such as an apartment or cell service.
If requesting a freeze online or by phone it should take effect within an hour. A freeze requested by mail can take three business days after a credit bureau receives your request.
Keep in mind, current creditors can still access your credit reports. Also, government agencies may have access under certain circumstances.
A credit freeze will not:
- Prevent you from obtaining your free annual credit report.
- Keep you from opening a new account, although you’ll need to temporarily lift the freeze.
- Prevent you from applying for a job, renting an apartment, or buying insurance (though you may need to lift the freeze for a specific party or period).
- Prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts. You still need to monitor your bank, credit card and insurance statements for fraudulent transactions.
One last note from Sophia: “It’s a good idea to go to your local USPS office and let them know you have been robbed so they can flag your file. Yes, the thieves tried to have my mail forwarded, but this stopped them from doing so.”
In closing, we share a note from a reader in response to Sophia’s story in November, in which she urged people to not carry a purse.
Hello,
Sofia Miles says not to carry a handbag. Not true.
I lived for years in New York City and Boston, and read countless reports of women being hit, some on the head and badly hurt, just because they didn’t carry a handbag and the frustrated robber wanted to search for valuables in her pockets.
The much safer way is to carry a handbag you don’t care about. Inside have 20-30$ you don’t mind losing in a wallet with an expired credit card — like you can purchase/fund, no name on the card. Also, an old set of keys if you have one.
This way if you are robbed, they can have your handbag. Carry your wallet with cards, driver license, keys and phone in your pockets. Wear jeans with lots of pockets. And don’t wear real jewelry — if they want it, they can have it. Better no jewelry.
I did that all the time. I was robbed once and they grabbed the fake handbag and ran away happy, and nothing happened to me, just scared.
I now live in Eugene and still do that. Much, much safer.
Thank you,
Brenda Johnson*
*Names changed for protection.