Identity Theft
So what a busy week, good job I’m not working full time right now! Had a day with my friend who has breast cancer on Monday, that was good, just a day of pottering, getting new bras, looking at wigs and hats and scarves, eating nice food, wandering the streets of London and generally just talking about the whole thing.
Loads of people saying the wrong thing to her as ever, at least I have the experience of a previous friend suffering and know the stupid things people say - Oh just stay positive, eat healthy, don’t do dairy.... My friend who died passed on these two words to me regarding all that kind of nonsense, which I have now passed onto R to throw in the faces of people who say such nonsense - Linda McCartney.
You think she didn’t stay positive, didn’t eat healthily, didn’t have everything that money could buy? It is what it is. Women die from breast cancer. They also recover completely. And painting a smile on their faces to keep friends and relatives happy should not need to be a part of that. So please anyone reading this who has friends who get breast cancer, don’t say stupid empty things to them about staying positive. Support them in their grief and fear, talk about the most terrifying of things, help them research stuff and give them space to say what they need to say. It’s not about you, it’s about them.
I’m trying hard to be a good friend but it’s very difficult not to let the empathic emotions run away with me. Sheeshhhhh.....
So then an interview on Tuesday for a contract that would have saved me and bailed me out in all kinds of ways. I felt it went well, I connected well with the panel (of seven people arghhhh) but heard on Thursday night that it wasn’t awarded to me. Bahhhh....
Still hopefully another job in the pipeline, and if that pipeline falls through, then it’s off to Colorado for me, I will go sooner rather than later and be done with this sodden country for a while.
That’s the plan anyway....
Then my identity theft, fucks sake. The whole thing started about 2 weeks ago with realisation that my mailbox, which is attached outside the building, kept being broken in to. Very odd, seemed someone was breaking in but not stealing anything. Queer shit. I figured it was some kids messing about, just doing it for the lark and to annoy adults in general.
But no, it was someone who had taken my name and address, connected it to the exposed and easy to break in to mail box and gone ahead opening loads of bank accounts, loans and credit cards in my name. Then they were breaking into my mail box to get the related papers, cards, pin numbers etc. So i wasn’t aware things were being stolen.
Except I managed to intercept them and got a letter confirming my new bank account with Lloyds TSB. Hmmmm what new bank account and overdraft facility??? The irony was that Lloyds then refused to close it without me going into a branch to prove my ID!! Lloyds have been totally useless over this. Nationwide, Halifax and American Express totally on the ball. Then a loan company, Amigo loans, how dodgy does that sound? Who also didn’t give much of a fuck.
So how does all this happen? Oh so easy peasy, Just using the electoral roll, and driving around for a bit looking for exposed mailboxes. That’s all you need, name, address and a mail box that can be broken into, or a shared mailbox with other flats. No amount of shredding of financial letters is going to save you from that. In some cases mail even gets redirected so you stop receiving mail altogether. To open all these accounts? They just did them online and weren’t asked for ID. Just a credit check is done and a cross reference on the electoral roll. So shredding your papers makes jack shit difference when it comes to identity theft.
How did I find all this out? I did a search through Experian and for a couple of months I have taken out an insurance, called IDprotect.
I am now registered on a site called CIFAS which requires all financial institutions and lenders to ask for additional photo ID when opening new accounts in my name and I have passworded my credit report. So no company can do a credit check on me now without getting a password off me.
I have also had a locksmith out who has bolted a clasp and hasp into my mailbox so now it’s locked and additionally padlocked. No easy in and out any more.
So there, fuck off losers. I think I have everything controlled and can willy nilly throw any rubbish in my bin regardless.
In the meantime Lloyds TSB are continuing to send me cheque books, PIN numbers and today a bank statement. Useless twats, the police said out of all the finance institutions it was Lloyds who were the worst for rigour.
So that then freshly pissed me off about banks, and public sector money and frivolous behaviour, because how hard would it be to stop some of this fraud? And how fucking easy would it have been for them to have lost another £1000 plus if i hadn’t been shit hot in dealing with it? And guess who picks up the bill for banks when they suffer fraud? Ah yes that’ll be the government....
And on a lighter note.... little Kali (the darker coloured tabby Tonkinese puppy cat) had a bit of a nightmare i think, as she woke up crying, sat up in her bed and looked at me miaowing loudly and then had to come for a Mummy cuddle before going back to bed. Awwwwwwww.... little baby.....