spring robins outside
...is late and hurried. We are back on the phones, trying to understand why and how my identity was stolen last month.
And the answer is at once bewildering and straightforward and maddening. I sold my condo two years ago. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue inadvertently posted sales information along with the sellers' social security numbers. I was notified of that breach, but I had brushed it aside. Oh well. So what. Move on.
Well now. Someone made good use of that information.
There remains much to be done and unfortunately, time is so very tight for me this week. The hope is to contain it now, but even more importantly -- to monitor it and contain it in the future. A real challenge, probably for the rest of my life.
I come home from work cold and tired. (I cannot believe the lakes are still frozen at this late date!)
I was out on rosie again and I'm just not bundling enough: the wind is coming right at me.
I smile as I look at the scene before me. Ed is outdoors in shorts (it's only 41 degrees F), transplanting the tomato seedlings into bigger pots.
The sun is out, the ground is frozen solid, but I take out the rake and start to remove the wet leaves from the flower beds. Just for a few minutes, to remind myself of what's ahead.
The light fades, but very slowly. I watch deer walk by.
Then I retreat inside to make dinner. Tomato soup from last year's batch, so that we can make room in the freezer for this year's batch.
Nina, I am so sorry that you have to go through this miserable episode of identity theft. I sincerely hope that it will soon be resolved.
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
Kerry
Wow, you can't trust anyone anymore. I wonder if people are ever able to get a new ss number issued in cases of identity theft? Probably not, but what happened to you is getting more and more common and will probably continue until the universe decides that this type of crime should be addressed and punished. Paul suggested that when they catch an identity thief, he/she should be hung-out-to-dry publically and then put away for life. No Mister Nice Guy anymore.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are eeking out a spring even in the face of a latent winter feeling.
Nina: If you were among the 110,000-plus taxpayer numbers and ID numbers that the Department of Revenue foolishly left hanging on the internet - and demonstrably downloaded by at least 138 users - you should have been offered free credit-monitoring by the department. Keep track of your losses attributed to this. The DOR had similar breaches at least twice earlier. The state spares nothing to keep information about how it works from the taxpayer, but is incredibly chintzy when it comes to paying for and letting the public know about its own mistakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd welcome back.
George H -- I was offered that service, in a letter sent to me last summer. I would have had to jump on board back then and maybe it would have been wise to do so, but I didn't think that anything would happen to ME! So the deadline for their offered protection passed. But really, it wasn't much of an offer -- a year's protection against misuse. How about a lifetime?! I actually am not worried what may happen tomorrow -- I am vigilant, I check everything, etc etc. But must I do this round the clock until the day I croak??
ReplyDeleteBut that notwithstanding, I am happy to be back and addressing these issues head on.