I guess it can happen to anyone...

Like most people I think I'm pretty resilient. But still I do take basic precautions. I wear my seat belt, shred anything that could be used to lift personal information, don't write down passwords or PINs. Still most of the time I don't worry about fraud or identity theft, because usually I don't fall for sketchy offers and keep things relatively safe. And then there's eBay.

A few days ago my husband received an email from eBay that his listing for a Tiffany necklace set had been posted. He asked me if I'd posted it. Are you kidding? I don't own or have access to such jewelry. I assumed it was a fraudulent email. But something didn't sit right so I looked at our account. Sure enough there was a posting for the Tiffany set.

I contacted eBay live help. They determined that the posting was fraudulent. So they removed it. Then they gave us a temporary password. They've got additional security that identifies the computer you are using. If you should login from a computer other than the one you've registered with then you'll be asked some basic security questions before you log in.

All seemed well and it appeared that our PayPal account had not been compromised either. Until we decided to check eBay again. Neil (my husband) tried to login with his new password--the one he created after logging in with the temporary given by eBay. The security questions came up. He answered them. They are not difficult. I think one was his birthdate. So we sure he answered them correctly. But he could not login.

Somewhere along the way he received an message from eBay that the account owner name--for our account--is Theresa. No one in our house is named Theresa. So here we go back and forth and hours online trying to get this straightened out. After sometime working on it yesterday, I had to give up and go to sleep.

So today I'll be back at pushing aside my real priorities and hopefully cancelling the eBay account. How did this happen? Not sure. Neil could have clicked a phishing email though he never mentioned anything like that. Meanwhile if you'd like to learn more about eBay login fraud here's a good post by the Auction Spider. You can also wait and see what unfolds next in this ugly web.

Let's Hunt for Hidden Treasure

photo by Artist-Dave

You've probably seen adds and emails about unclaimed property. And if you're skeptical like me then you might think these things are scams. And that's usually true. But I ran across this one from the Colorado Treasure Office and it's for real--I swear, no crossed fingers.

The site contains a database search engine that will locate your lost property.
Straight from the site:

"...if you have lost track of a bank account, stock certificate, or a retirement account; misplaced a rebate check, reimbursement or paycheck from a business; or moved prior to receiving your Colorado state tax rebate, the bank, business or state agency is required by law to file a report and forward those assets to the Unclaimed Property office of the Colorado State Treasurer."

It's simple form, just fill in your name, city and zip code. Of course I didn't have anything matching my name.

But that's not the exciting part. This is...

"After holding the items for about five years, unclaimed items - from safe deposit items that have been sent to the state - are sometimes auctioned to the highest bidder. The proceeds from the sale are held in perpetuity by the State for the owners or heirs."

And where do they hold this auction? No, not in a secret building far off on the plains. It's here on eBay.com. And the next auction begins in May. I couldn't find any date details, but I'd say start checking on Thursday, May 1 because as the treasury office says:

We anticipate a variety of interesting and unusual items available for auction, so please check back often!

Escapades in Frugality

So last night I was reading about a new wiki, called Fruwiki. Wait you’ve never heard of a wiki? Yes, you have. You know, like Wikipedia. Still don’t know? Click here. Anyway you know how a search on the Internet starts your mind and mouse wondering to all sorts of loosely related topics. That is why they call it the Web. Well, my mind works the same way. I was all set to dive into Fruwiki, the wiki for all things frugal, when I realized it’s not that interesting yet. But what is interesting is my husband’s recent frugal victory. It goes like this…

We need ceiling fans in every bedroom ‘cause it’s sweltering hot at night in the summer. And because I’m cheap and I hate having the windows closed. So I won’t run the air conditioner. Thus, no one sleeps in our house in the summer. Ceiling fans, we hope, will be the answer to our dreams.

We’ve lived in this house for 7 years. Every year we vow to get fans. I decided that this is THE YEAR. So I picked out fans online. Then I found those fans at Costco for cheaper. I thought I was so cool. But, Neil, that’s my guy, did much better. He found similar a fan on eBay for $90 less. Then he contacted the seller to see if there were 4 available and if they’d take less money for them. Yes and Yes. Score! We’re saving $400!

Neil is so awesome at bargaining. I am not, so good thing I have him. Morals of the story: Seek and you shall find. Ask not, want not. And don’t think you’re hot snot.