3565: [Part 1] The Price of Inattention by Michael Smith with Financial Finesse on Financial Awareness

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[00:00:29] The closest outlet. And built-in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule not in the middle of it. They don't build tech for tech's sake. They build it for you. Find technology built for the way you work at Dell.com slash Dell PCs. Built for you.

[00:00:51] This is Optimal Finance Daily. The Price of Inattention. Part 1 by Michael Smith with FinancialFinesse.com As we look back at the previous year, I've started thinking about people I've talked to this year who have left an impression on me. One of the more memorable people that I was able to have conversations with started with a story that was disturbing on a few levels, but has come to a relatively happy conclusion.

[00:01:18] The fun part for me was getting updates on her progress and seeing the change in her voice, posture, and energy level as things got better. During our first conversation, her voice was barely audible. Her shoulders were slumped, and I wasn't sure a smile had ever crossed her face. During our last conversation, before her promotion and transfer, she was smiling broadly, had a great energy, to use the word perky would be an understatement.

[00:01:46] And she made Katie Couric look like she needed a caffeine boost. How did she transform almost in front of my eyes? The issue we talked about during our first conversation was identity theft and some resulting debt. The worst part was that the perpetrator was her fiancé, who was now an ex-fiancé with a warrant out for his arrest. After they got engaged, he moved into her apartment since it was a bit nicer than his place.

[00:02:14] What she didn't know then, that she knows now, is that he wasn't paying rent at his place and was very close to getting evicted. While living with her, he found and used her social security number, date of birth, and typical security questions, like her mother's maiden name, and first pet. He had all the information he needed to pull off his heist. How?

[00:02:37] Since she had impeccable credit, he suggested that they open a joint department store card so that he could establish better credit. She filled out her portion of the paper application, and voila, he had all of her information. Then he opened multiple credit cards in her name alone, and was able to get the mail from the mailbox because he got home from work earlier than she did. He knew what he was doing, and he covered his bases.

[00:03:04] At the end of their relationship, he also applied for an apartment in her name, several states away, where he had a new job lined up, unbeknownst to her. And for all the fake credit cards, he changed the address to a P.O. box so that it would take her a while to put the pieces together after he vanished. Oh, he also got each credit card up to the maximum before he moved out while she was at work one day. She was hurt. She was shocked. She was embarrassed.

[00:03:34] Telling a complete stranger, me, that story took incredible bravery on her part, and she was emotionally drained after telling me how she got into that situation. Without her knowledge, thousands of dollars of credit card debt was out there in her name, and all of it was 60 to 90 days late because all the statements had been diverted to a P.O. box. She figured it out when she went to look for a car and got declined for a loan because of all of the outstanding and delinquent debt.

[00:04:04] That was three to four months after he disappeared and left a note that he just couldn't be in the relationship anymore and didn't want to stay in touch. Her first step was getting a credit report from the car dealership. Her next step was complete and utter disbelief, followed by sadness and anger, followed by setting up an appointment to talk about how to work on cleaning up her situation. We reviewed her credit report and we were able to find the P.O. box, which she visited the next day to retrieve statements.

[00:04:34] Along with the $20,000 in credit card debt she found, she also discovered the apartment a few states away. He was only there for a few weeks before he moved out of there. Because of her good credit, the landlord didn't require a security deposit or a month's rent in advance. Her name is one that I've seen used for boys and girls, so when he talked to the landlord on the phone prior to moving, he used her name and assumed her identity.

[00:05:01] She called her local police department and filed a report so that the process of healing could begin. Her experiences there left her less than completely thrilled as there was only one officer that handled white-collar crimes and he was rarely available. It took her weeks to get the report completed and the whole time her credit score was going down because all the cards were falling even further behind. Find out what happened next in tomorrow's episode.

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[00:06:54] Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter. For the moments you plan and the ones you don't. Built for the busy days that turn into all-night study sessions. The moment you're working from a cafe and realize every outlet's taken. The times you're deep in your flow and the absolute last thing you need is an auto-update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work.

[00:07:20] Built with long-lasting batteries so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet. And built-in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule, not in the middle of it. They don't build tech for tech's sake. They build it for you. Find technology built for the way you work at dell.com slash dellpcs. Built for you.

[00:07:45] This article reminded me a lot of the documentary on Netflix called The Tinder Swindler. Have you seen it? It's pretty chilling. Basically, a con man swindles about $10 million out of multiple women in an elaborate Ponzi scheme. He's finally caught and prosecuted. But get this. He only serves five months in jail. He's released on good behavior and suspected to be outrunning the same scam again.

[00:08:13] It's so easy to watch something like that and think, I would never let that happen to me. But the women in this documentary were not idiots. Watching their stories definitely gave me pause. Financial manipulators use psychological abuse techniques similar to those commonly found in domestic violence. According to Cassandra Cross, who did a fellowship on the topic of romance fraud with the Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Center,

[00:08:41] offenders might prevent victims from communicating with family and friends, bombard them with messages to monopolize their attention, or verbally abuse them to make them feel worthless. All of these tactics impair a victim's ability to think clearly about their situation or seek help. No one wakes up in the morning and decides to give away all their money. This happens after a long and painstaking grooming process.

[00:09:07] Cassandra recommends that you should consider the motives behind any request for financial help and never lend money you can't afford to lose. So be sure to come back tomorrow where we'll finish up this post and where your optimal life awaits.