Passports stolen

[EldrickOnIce]

Home broken into today.
Among whatever else, passports were stolen.

What must we guard against?

[Dan02]

http://passport.gc.ca/planification/203.aspx?lang=eng

What to do if your passport is lost or stolen
In Canada: Call Passport Canada (at 1-800-567-6868) to report the circumstances of the loss or theft.

[Calgary14]

That really sucks. Assuming you had personal financial info in your house you'll also want to notify Equifax and Transunion. Get them to place an alert on your credit file so that every time someone tries to pull credit using your SIN you will be notified. It costs $5 and is good for 6 years. Good luck with everything

[FlamesAddiction]

Just curious, but do you know if they stole them by accident (as in, stole a box or safe with them in it), or if they would have to selectively steal them?

The latter would certainly be scarier from a credit/identity theft perspective.

Regardless, you can't be too careful. Good luck with everything.

[MacDaddy77]

Do you mind giving an area/community where you live? Always nice to be aware of where these things are happening

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

Do you mind giving an area/community where you live? Always nice to be aware of where these things are happening

Probably your best bet for information.

http://crimemap.calgarypolice.ca/con...aimerPage.aspx

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Just curious, but do you know if they stole them by accident (as in, stole a box or safe with them in it), or if they would have to selectively steal them?

The latter would certainly be scarier from a credit/identity theft perspective.

Regardless, you can't be too careful. Good luck with everything.

Not by accident, for sure. Was one thing they were specifically look8ng for, I believe. They were gone in under 4 minutes, according to alarm company. And that incl7ded kick8ng in garage door first

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

Do you mind giving an area/community where you live? Always nice to be aware of where these things are happening

3500km away.from Calgary

[Travis Munroe]

As someone who lost a passport and then had a damaged passport while in Mexico I can tell you to protect this second one like gold. When I went into the passport office with a damaged passport needing a new one I had to go through extreme hoops and hurdles and was given a limited passport due to the fact I had lost one in the previous 5 years. Very frustrating considering I was holding a perfectly legit passport right in front of them that was simply damaged.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

As someone who lost a passport and then had a damaged passport while in Mexico I can tell you to protect this second one like gold. When I went into the passport office with a damaged passport needing a new one I had to go through extreme hoops and hurdles and was given a limited passport due to the fact I had lost one in the previous 5 years. Very frustrating considering I was holding a perfectly legit passport right in front of them that was simply damaged.

Absolutely. It's just hard to know what 'gold' is...
Passports were in a nondescript envelope, under some crap in the bottom drawer of a locked steel file cabinet in a home with alarm and wireless motion cameras. I understand these things only deter to some degree and/or limit entry time - but one always thinks they are protected in their own home.

I guess drop ceiling hiding spots are in order instead. Or hiding them in a child's room (which they never entered). The only other gold alternative is safe deposit box.

The psychology of someone entering your home and tossing cherished keepsakes, etc around like trash is interesting...

[psyang]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Absolutely. It's just hard to know what 'gold' is...
Passports were in a nondescript envelope, under some crap in the bottom drawer of a locked steel file cabinet in a home with alarm and wireless motion cameras.

And they found the passports in 4 minutes? Sounds like an inside job (ie. someone who already knew where they were).

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

As someone who lost a passport and then had a damaged passport while in Mexico I can tell you to protect this second one like gold. When I went into the passport office with a damaged passport needing a new one I had to go through extreme hoops and hurdles and was given a limited passport due to the fact I had lost one in the previous 5 years. Very frustrating considering I was holding a perfectly legit passport right in front of them that was simply damaged.

I had a damaged passport this summer (water) and they warned me that if it happens again I would only be able to get a two year passport with proof of travel. Mine was water damage, and incredibly obvious as to what happened, but I suppose they don't want to have anyone messing around trying to duplicate these or whatever. She told me that I'd it happens twice they consider you an increased security risk.

[hockeycop]

Start monitoring your credit (if you don't already). Report this to the Police and to Passport Canada immediately.

There are a lot of people who would do anything to get their hands on a Canadian passport, and may use it as an imposter for various criminal acts.

[EldrickOnIce]

Not sure who was happier this morning.... The detective who called or me who got the news that a suspect was in custody and we could come retrieve our property.
Of course, most expensive items were not recovered , the passports were.
Police believe this individual is responsible for over 100 break-ins in the greater area over the course of up to three years.
A professional home invader hopefully off the street for a while. Sometimes it takes a long time for police work to pay off, but it's nice to see when it does.
Will stop by tomorrow with donuts and other goodies to say thanks to the men and women in blue on a job well done.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by psyang

And they found the passports in 4 minutes? Sounds like an inside job (ie. someone who already knew where they were).

Officers said worst place to put anything of value in office is bottom drawer of file cabinet

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Glad you got at least some of your stuff back, including the passports. Crappy thing to have to go through.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

n/m

[Madman]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Glad you got at least some of your stuff back, including the passports. Crappy thing to have to go through.

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Glad you got at least some of your stuff back, including the passports. Crappy thing to have to go through.

You can say that again.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Not sure who was happier this morning.... The detective who called or me who got the news that a suspect was in custody and we could come retrieve our property.
Of course, most expensive items were not recovered , the passports were.
Police believe this individual is responsible for over 100 break-ins in the greater area over the course of up to three years.
A professional home invader hopefully off the street for a while. Sometimes it takes a long time for police work to pay off, but it's nice to see when it does.
Will stop by tomorrow with donuts and other goodies to say thanks to the men and women in blue on a job well done.

Cool.

Do you happen to know any details of how they caught the person? If it was your event that specifically helped end the spree, that would be pretty cool.

It has to be relief though. Is it too late to uncancel your passports?

[hockeycop]

Glad you got the passports back. Remember that if you did report them stolen, they are now void and can not be used. Put the costs of new passports on to your insurance claim if this is the case. The insurance company may pay the fees.

The detectives in the Robbery Unit are a pretty healthy bunch... But they'll appreciate the doughnuts or muffins. Or call ahead and take a coffee order! That is something they'll really love! If it is a detective from another unit... Anything from Tim's is safe haha.