Victims of mail/identity theft 'often only notice after credit rating affected'

[mustachepungoeshere]

http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/mail-theft-leaves-sydney-woman-struggling-to-get-her-life-back/story-fnkjidjt-1227382987772

Yes, the bank and phone company were slow to respond to this girl's requests for her accounts to be frozen.

But:

Ms Mills’s ordeal began on November 20 when she noticed her mobile phone had no signal. But she didn’t become worried until the next morning when she saw a newspaper report taped up in a lift that warned of mail theft.

She rushed to her letterbox, which she had not opened in weeks, and there was nothing in it.

At least the story does give tips, including the very obvious:

• Check your mail every day
• Check your credit card statements for any strange transactions

[forummm]

I've actually known several people (some of which were otherwise very bright and capable) who would just never open their mail. It was insanity. I don't understand it. They would have tons of late fees on everything just because they didn't pay bills for 3 months. People with plenty of money to pay on time. They would sometimes get things shutoff and that would trigger their payment. I guess like the credit rating issue posted here.

[Cookie78]

I used to check my mailbox every day when I got home, but last fall they changed it so I had to walk down the street to the locked community mailbox to get the mail. It's about half a block away, no big deal. Also I get so little mail now since all my bills come to my email instead, so I rarely check it more than once a week.

However, I do open it once I go get it!

[Insanity]

It was insanity.

Hehehe


The lack of checking is why I request paper bills.  I don't want to forget or have an e-bill get lost in my inbox .i also write down the bill pay confirmation number on the bill before scanning it in.

I have alerts set up at certain thresholds.  Ironically, my wife and I just got into a fight in that she thinks I am paranoid because I check mint almost daily (mainly because it is easier to keep track of the budget that way), I have notifications if VMs for our home phone (we have issues in the past when our internet went out or the phone went out and didn't get messages for a couple of days because the notification on the phone didn't show up), and have alerts for new payees and when bills are paid from our bank.

[vhalros]

Honestly, if I had to deal with paper bills I'd probably never get it right. I turned off paper bills for everything that can have them turned off. I still check my mail every day, but it is almost all junk.

[Jack]

Honestly, if I had to deal with paper bills I'd probably never get it right. I turned off paper bills for everything that can have them turned off. I still check my mail every day, but it is almost all junk.

I have exactly one bill (city water bill) that can't be automated through my bank's bill pay. Not coincidentally, I have exactly one bill that I occasionally forget to pay on time.

[forummm]

Honestly, if I had to deal with paper bills I'd probably never get it right. I turned off paper bills for everything that can have them turned off. I still check my mail every day, but it is almost all junk.

I have exactly one bill (city water bill) that can't be automated through my bank's bill pay. Not coincidentally, I have exactly one bill that I occasionally forget to pay on time.

Do you intentionally not pay it immediately? I find that just paying things immediately when it shows up works for me.

I do automate things too. But also can't with my water bill. My bill is only $5/mo so I pay about 2 years in advance. Then I make a joke about complaining about the water bill every month to DW. "WHAT? It went up 10% this month!?!?!?"

[Jack]

Honestly, if I had to deal with paper bills I'd probably never get it right. I turned off paper bills for everything that can have them turned off. I still check my mail every day, but it is almost all junk.

I have exactly one bill (city water bill) that can't be automated through my bank's bill pay. Not coincidentally, I have exactly one bill that I occasionally forget to pay on time.

Do you intentionally not pay it immediately? I find that just paying things immediately when it shows up works for me.

I do automate things too. But also can't with my water bill. My bill is only $5/mo so I pay about 2 years in advance. Then I make a joke about complaining about the water bill every month to DW. "WHAT? It went up 10% this month!?!?!?"

Sometimes, it's not convenient for me to get on my bank's website immediately after getting the mail. When that happens, the bill goes into the pile of papers on my desk and occasionally gets forgotten. Yes, I should be more organized, but that's just not something that comes easily for me.

By the way, the City of Atlanta is not like the rest of Metro Atlanta, where you live. My water bill is either $50 or $69, depending on whether I use 3 or 4 CCFs [hundred cubic feet] that month. (Incidentally, the average household in the city uses about 8 CCFs/month -- considering that the cost per CCF goes up when you use more, I don't even want to think about how much most people are paying!)

[Syonyk]

I just write a check when it shows up in the mail...