Wednesday, June 30, 2010

ID Theft Happens Even to Me

Those that know me have often heard me say “stuff happens”. I was at the Israeli Consulate in New York City on June 2, 2010 for a meeting. A journalist from a local Jewish paper was also at the consulate the same time. We never met each other but our identities were switched.

When I arrived at the 3rd check point on the 16th Fl of the Consulate, there is a security booth in the lobby area. It is caddy corned with two blacked out security windows on each side and there is a security gate, identical to what we walk through at the airport, next to the booth between the windows. Using a draw that pulls in and out exactly like the bank drive up window, you place your ID in one end and walk through the gate. Your ID is held until you are ready to leave. It is then handed back to you from the opposite window.

In the time that it took to give my license, walk through the gate, and receive my license on the other side it was switched. I placed the license into my bag without ever checking that it wasn’t mine. Why would I suspect that a highly secure environment like the Israeli Consulate would expose me to identity theft? If anything security was so high that day due to the intense protest they experienced the day before. Police were everywhere. So it never occurred to me I would have a problem…… (hindsight is 20-20). But that wasn’t the half of it. Learn what happen next by emailing a request for the full story. You would never believe it in your wildest dreams. I am just so glad I had the best protection in the world backing me up. Do you? www.m2secure.com in case you are wondering.