Here is a merry christmas for ya. We were notified on christmas eve, no less, that a credit card check on my american express card was cashed for $3000.00. I did not write the check, and as you can imagine, was just a little concerned about this. After speaking with the police in Seaside, it turns out that myself, my wife, and 400-500 other people, and the list is still growing, are victims of mail/identity theft. They arrested the people last week, and are in the process of obtaining warrents to seize a couple of storage units as well as a vehicle used by these individuals. It seems that they have stolen specific mail, anything with financial info, checks, etc., from mailboxes throughout Clatsop and Columbia County. The officer said that they have recovered around 50 garbage sacks full of mail, and expect to find more in the storage units. They seized a laptop that the people were using to get personal info from a legitimate website. For $20 dollars they were able to get social security numbers, last addresses, employment info, etc., obtained from public records. I don't know about you, but that scares the hell out of me. I will be going to find a locking mailbox, since the waiting list for a post office box is 1 year. Don't let them get you, lock your shit up and protect your Credit. This (1-800-525-6285) is a number you can call to put a fraud alert on your credit report if you suspect fraud. Basically what it does is makes it so that if a credit application, any large purchases, or anything out of the ordinary happens on your credit they will call you to verify before putting it on your credit report. Equifax will link to the other 3 credit reporting agencies so that you are protected no matter where this happens. I hope those bastards burn!