Laptop Stolen--worried about identity theft!!

[Miss Peach]

Hi--

Here is the story--

My grandson picked a letter off of my keyboard, so I was sending the laptop into HP to have it fixed. I cleared all my cookies and my history, BUT I tucked a note inside the box with my password to enter the laptop itself.

I left the laptop, in it's box that HP sent me, on my porch. It is(was??) a safe spot. Later that day it was gone, but FedEx says they never collected it.

So... do you think my identity can be compromised?

Thanks for your thoughts...

Cathy

 

[msmayor]

Depends on what you have on your hard drive.

Do you allow your browser to "save" passwords for you? With the password to your desktop, someone could now gain access to all your websites if you have saved login IDs and passwords to 'save time' for you.

Have you done your taxes on it and save your return in any of the files (which would contain your SS#)

What sort of data files do you have? Anything that can identify you

Are there banking records on the computer?

 

[manning]

Good reason not to put personal info in it. I would have put a note in advising HP to call for password. (I would verify if person was legit first.)

 

[LilyWDW]

Hi--

Here is the story--

My grandson picked a letter off of my keyboard, so I was sending the laptop into HP to have it fixed. I cleared all my cookies and my history, BUT I tucked a note inside the box with my password to enter the laptop itself.

I left the laptop, in it's box that HP sent me, on my porch. It is(was??) a safe spot. Later that day it was gone, but FedEx says they never collected it.

So... do you think my identity can be compromised?

Thanks for your thoughts...

Cathy

If someone took your laptop then yes, your identity could be compromised.

I would call the credit bureaus and put a flag on your accounts. While it will make so you have to prove who you are when you want to open an account, it will hopefully keep anyone from opening accounts in your name.

Hopefully you will get lucky and FedEx just didn't record the pickup and it will show up soon. That or your system was taken by someone who doesn't really care about your identity but just wanted your computer.

 

[Miss Peach]

Thanks for all your quick responses.

I do not store passwords on the computer. I do not use it for taxes or anything SS# related. I do online banking, but those passwords are not saved.

I do not have anything on the hard drive.

It was a new computer, purchased after my desktop died, and I had not put anything on it. No photos.

I used my PayPal account and EBay and Amazon. Two bank accounts to check balances. A few forums that I frequent. I hadn't even put in my online pay accounts for the gas and electric yet.

And I do hope the whole situation is a tempest in a teapot, and someone will return it. Maybe the substitute post person collected it in error. (although I called my post office branch and it isn't sitting in their 'dead letter office').

But it is making me a bit nervous---but I am the nervous type!! My dh says it is fine, my son says it is fine, my s-i-l says it is fine.

Ack, modern technology!!

Cathy

 

[KellyT2]

Did you check the Fedex tracking number to see if it was scanned?

 

[Miss Peach]

Hi--

Yes, I checked, but, no, it hasn't scenned.

Cathy