December 27th, 2010
You may have noticed that I haven’t updated my blog for awhile. For that – I apologize. Mid-November, someone broke in through my kitchen window and quickly swiped everything with an Apple or Canon camera logo. Two days after the incident, the thief signed into my Gmail account. I was able to track the IP address but the Cottonwood Heights police never followed up on this lead, despite my continued prompting.
It took some time to obtain the insurance check and order a new computer, but now I’m back in action!
Here are some ideas to consider to prevent or recoup from having your laptop stolen:
Don’t leave your laptop in plain sight. When my house was broken into, my laptop was sitting on the kitchen table, visible through an open window curtain. Nevermind that it was 1pm in the afternoon and I had left to pick up a friend at the airport. I was gone for less than 3 hours.
Get homeowner/renters insurance so that if a theft does occur, you can recoup some of the losses.
Make sure your computer is backed up. In addition to backing up some files to an external hard drives (which the thieves kindly left), I use Mozy which backs up my personal files for $4.95 a month. You can either download the contents of your hard drive or order a disc or external hard drive containing all your information.
Encrypt sensitive personal and financial information. Windows has a program to do this and there are a number of other free software downloads you can obtain. However, browsers will cache some information that can’t be easily encrypted using these products so this step isn’t foolproof.
Install tracking software on your Mac, PC, ipad, or cell phone. There are a number of different services, each with varying costs and services. For example, Prey (for PCs) allows you to remotely trigger specific actions on your stolen computer to wipe your stored passwords, lock down your PC, sound a loud alarm, or show a message which will appear onscreen to let the thief know you are chasing them. Check with local police in your area to see if they will help you recover your stolen goods – chances are, you are on your own.
Immediately change all your passwords.
Put a fraud alert on your credit report. This will require credit grantors to verify your identity before extending credit in your name in the event that someone is trying to steal your identity.
I signed up for an extended identity theft/credit protection program from Trilegiant Corporation through Wells Fargo that gives me access to daily credit monitoring and credit reports.
What else? I’d love to hear any feedback/comments about steps that you take and I hope it never happens to you!
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