After receiving a letter from ECMC (student loan company) regarding the theft of my personal info I wrote this in a much needed attempt to vent . . . not so much on the actual topic below . . . but it sure provided a great avenue to release a whole lot of pent up emotion! ;o)
April 13, 2010
Dear Janice,
Thanks for your letter dated 3/31/2010. It’s good to hear from you. I received your letter on 04/12/2010. This letter notified me that my personal information has been stolen – including my social security number, birthday, loan information, address, etc “resulting in the potential loss of your personal information.” (my own emphasis included) I appreciate your assurance that no savings, checking or credit card account numbers were included in the theft. Phewph! That’s a relief!
In the nearly two weeks time it has taken for me to receive this information it is possible that my credit has already been completely destroyed and while no credit card or other account information was included – it’s ok. I’m sure that didn’t stop anyone from opening up new accounts, running up all kinds of charges that I will be held responsible for in the years to come. It’s fine really. I’ll find out about them as I try and purchase a car (trust me – my crappy Daewoo (they don’t even make those anymore) that’s pushing 120,000 miles won’t last through the end of the year), a home (not in today’s market!), run a credit check for my children’s braces (can you believe all three of them need braces?!?! Just our luck!) – oh – and of course, as I try to secure student loans for my own children’s college education which is now only a few years away.
I am impressed that you have now chosen to enhance your electronic and physical security protocol. What a relief that my information won’t be stolen yet again. But wait . . . there’s more! I’m the lucky winner of 12 months free triple alert coverage monitoring membership! Woohoo! You know now I’m really comforted. Because now instead of being at the counter of the orthodontist when I’m declined – or on the verge of signing house papers when I’m denied financing – I’ll know ahead of time which will spare me the horrific embarrassment of other people witnessing my disbelief. (That usually involves my mouth hanging open, stammering, wide-etc. Not very pretty to be witnessed. So I’m relieved about that.) What’s that you say? We can always rely on my husband’s credit? Funny thing you should mention that . . . he got a letter from you today too! Since your name is signed to each one I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what his said too!
Here’s the funny thing . . . when I activate or enroll in the triple protection I’ve won since my info was stolen - I’m sure I get to give them all my information (ha! Ironic don’t you think?!?!?) – which will no doubt be protected (hopefully) by the same methods of your new security protocol. I’m a tad confused at the wording at the end of page one. “When you call, blah blah blah place a fraud alert at no charge.” Wait! What? At no charge? See to me that kind of wording indicates that at some point there will be a charge. So now I’m suspicious. Not that I was before or anything – but is this a commercial to get me to sign up for something? You know – like those diet pills on tv where they say 90 day free trial – and in fine print it says if you don’t cancel on the 3rd Thursday that has a barometric pressure of .257 when allergies are high you will be charged $500 every month automatically for the rest of your life. Thankfully, I’ve never needed to buy any of those – but I do often wonder about the ethical marketing practices of those companies. However, I digress. Surely in the midst of this theft which has affected 3.3 million people (did I mention how much better that makes me feel. Oh! Well 3.2999999999999 other people had their info stolen too. No big deal. I’m part of the masses – don’t complain – trudge on like the rest!) no one would be trying to make gain further down the line from this - making a profit off of me from this crime which has been committed.
See I guess part of my thinking is that my husband and I are raising three children. Since my personal information isn’t personal any more – I’ll go ahead and tell you they are 13, 11, and 9. These three children are what we feel will be our greatest contribution to society. Why you may ask? Well I will tell you. Thanks for asking. See our kids are being raised to be honest, have a moral compass and understand that actions have consequences. Not just “I’m sorry” and it’s all ok – but seriously – actions have consequences. So for instance hmmmm. . . let’s say that my son’s teacher has entrusted him with the trophies for field day for the entire class. They are in his backpack and his teacher says, “Tyler, keep these safe. I’m depending on you.” “You bet I will!” he replies and they head off to the playground. Well, after a while he is tired maybe a bit complacent and thirsty too. So he takes that backpack off and sets it down right beside him at the water fountain to take a drink. In that split second that he takes that drink and stands back up – it’s gone. Rather than drawing this out – you can fill in what happens between him and the teacher and the note that comes home. The teary face that gets in the car after school . . . Here’s where the story picks back up. When he gets home there are a lot of ways this could go. We could say: A. That teacher never should have given him that responsibility B. Oh well. C. It’s not your fault baby. D. Here’s a letter to your teacher saying sorry and good luck with that or E. You were given a responsibility. Sometimes these things happen and people might be dishonest and do wrong things that affect you. But when we have been entrusted it is our responsibility to make sure things are cared for. Let’s make a plan on how you can earn the money back to make sure your class has new trophies in time. –Now clearly that might require us to help him in order to reach that goal – but that would be the right thing to do. Not say – “Sorry Teach – too bad about those trophies! Guess what – I’ll take a picture of some trophies and maybe you can pass those out and that’ll make everyone happy for a while. It’s no big deal.
I feel comforted by your statement on page two Janice - that you “regret any difficulties this incident may have caused you.” Regret for 3.3 million must weigh heavy late at night. Just think of all those individual headaches that must cause – not just once – but all the headaches over the YEARS it takes to clean up identity theft.
My favorite part of your whole letter was this:
No police report available at the time – but if you want it – you’re on your own. It’s your problem. Don’t contact us about it – call the police department (are they prepared for 3.3 million calls? – oh wait – most of us are masses that just keep trudging on – opening the mail – reading this same form letter shaking our head – and then dealing with the realities of our days without time to meticulously plan and follow up on our impending identity theft) – and by the way – here’s the police department number which is long distance on your own dime. I guess mailing the report out to us when it becomes available isn’t a responsible option? It’s only OUR information that was stolen. It just seems a little odd that wouldn’t be a natural response or expectation for something that we had entrusted and yet has been stolen.
What I love the most (I guess I keep saying that – your letter just really tickled me) is that this is not the first letter I’ve received like this. Actually, this is probably my sixth letter from a company I was supposed to trust warning me that my identity has been thefted by someone. (And yes – I know that’s not a word. It just seemed to fit.) Don’t worry – not all six were from your company of course. Banks, student loans, car loans, etc. - they all send a very similar letter – opps lost your stuff – sorry about that – try your free trial for this tracking company – have a great day! But at this point I’m guessing my identity is non-existent. In fact, I’m looking into renting a billboard and putting all my info – you know – social, bday, name, age, favorite color, checking account balance (oh wait – that might deter someone), hobbies, etc and then have at it. Go for it world!!!! Here’s my info! Keep it safe!!!!!! And so – now that you know the multitude of letters I’ve received regarding the same topic – and that your company is not the first – I just want to thank you for your time. Hopefully you have a sense of humor and understand it’s been a long day. Your letter allowed me the opportunity to vent a million other things that just culminated into your letter – because you know what? I admit. I am one of the masses. How do we even begin to fight back against this? I’m mad but I will trudge along as usual. I’m too tired. I work hard all day. I teach special needs kids – 3 and 4 years old (some with significant behaviors that cause me to come home black and blue). With that in mind - I LOVE my job because I love my students and I love teaching them. The rewards are immeasurable - but it makes me tired. But I don’t stop then. I come home and try to raise our kids to be the best citizens they can possibly be. But when the day is over – I’m done. Tracking down my credit doesn’t cross my mind. My husband works extremely hard too. We are exhausted at the end of each day. Between the two of us we make enough to break even. We’re not big spenders. You know our type . . . we shop at Walmart (even the thrift store here and there – but shhh – don’t tell). Sometimes we don’t go to birthday parties because the cost of a gift just isn’t in our budget that month. Shopping at Target is upscale to us – at least until we get through this whole braces and college thing. So this finally brings me to a close.
I appreciate your time. Perhaps this letter put a smile on someone’s face as they do their job of reading mail all day long. Perhaps it will even reach your desk. You have to admit it’s better than Dear blah blah blah. Your account is yadda yadda yadda. Besides your name – Janice - sounded like a nice person’s name with a hint of a sense of humor, understanding and optimism. I know your letter to us had to pass all kinds of lawyer tests and stuff – but just between you and me Janice – it came off a little form letterish. I’m sure that wasn’t your intent. Sometimes all those stuffy CEO, President, CFO, COO, C3P0, titles get in the way of just a real person – who may actually - quite possibly be understanding and maybe a little tired at the end of a long day too.
Sincerely and with respect,
Mary E.
(whose favorite color happens to be yellow)
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