- Hi. My life account has been hacked and I would like to report an identity theft.
- Can you please give us your full name?
- Am I talking Chinese here? Good Lord! I am a victim of identity theft...they took my last name and my first name. I actually manage to keep the "B" from my first name, I don't know how, but they took the rest of it before I could blink. I had no chance. Very professional!
- That's terrible. Can I call you "Mr. B" ?
- Sure. No problem with that. In fact, that's the only thing I have left in the whole wide world. They really cleaned me out!
- And how about your social security number?
- It seems to me you are not listening. How many times do I have to repeat this? They took everything. All my data is gone!!! I don't even know if I have parents, wife, friends or a college education! This is very irritating.
- Let's try to keep calm and not loose perspective, ok Mr B? I know it's an unusual situation, but I'm only doing my job here. Let's start a 'Be Nice To Each Other' policy, ok? A certain level of courtesy and civility is expected in a conversation.
- Good idea officer! I will start doing that myself. I'm sorry I yelled at you.
- Ok, let's start from the beginning. Could you be more specific Mr. B? What exactly happened to you?
- Well, a little after 5:00 I noticed my life was unlocked, so I assumed I just forgot to lock it when I left and, looking around, there didn't seem to be anything missing: computer, TV, DVD player, and so on. " Hey wait...", I said to myself, "...where the heck is my phone number?!?... It's gone!" At this point I started to panic, "What's going on?" I looked around again and still nothing else seemed to be missing. That's bizarre, I thought. A few minutes later I noticed that not only my phone number but all my data was gone. I called the cops and the rest is history. Here I am relaying the info to you.
- Do you have a life insurance?
- Oh yeah, and for a moment back there I felt relieved, "Thank God I have insurance," but soon I realized that "they" had my policy number
- Hummm. Sorry about that. What do you do for a living Mr. B.?
- The sign at the door says I am an accountant, but I can barely add. It seems they not only took my diploma but my knowledge as well.
- Sorry to hear that too. Hummm...letīs see...do you have a back up of your life?
- No, like most users I never worried about losing control of my data till one day....you know how it is...we keep postponing and by the time they get to us, it's too late.
- This is going to be a problem Mr. B.
- Really? Should I worry?
- There isn't much you can do, worry will not change anything. You know the story about the half full and half empty glass of water?
- Do you mean I can't get my life back?
- Well, it's time to start thinking half empty here Mr. B. That's why we are always asking: PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE ("USER AGREEMENT") VERY CAREFULLY! It's there in the fine print: back up your data every day!!!!
- This is ridiculous!! What's going to happen to me? Am I condemned to remain in limbo?
- As I was saying, if you have a life you should back up your data every day!!
- If you don't catch the thieves, which seems unlikely since we have no descriptions, I will probably have to rebuild a new life from scratch. What about my family? My kids? My friends? What am I going to be to them now? A ghost?
- I don't think they will miss you Mr. B.
- How come? Of course they will!
- Well, somebody out there has your id now Mr. B. As uncomfortable or unsettling as this may sound, a couple of losers broke into your living space and made off with the stuff, right?
- That's creepy!
- Yep! But that's life. – It could have been a lot worse. Think about that.
- But what could be worse than losing your life, officer?
- Well, one thing is to lose your life and another is to die, right Mr. B?