A tourist traveling in Greece has revealed how a sneaky thief stole her identity and drained her bank account of more than $15,000 after she made one stupid mistake.
“If you’re planning to go on a girls’ or lads’ holiday this summer, do not make the same mistake as me!” Lydia Coates implored in a TikTok clip posted on Jun. 27. “One simple mistake in Zante cost me over £12,242 [US $15,626].”
In the four-minute video, which was recently deleted, the British woman explained the moment she realized her phone and license were missing.
Coates traveled to the Greek island in 2022 with her close friend, where they embarked on a booze cruise.
Prior to boarding the party boat, Coates packed a small bag with her phone, ID, bank cards and cash. She claims the bag stayed with her throughout the excursion.
“The only time I didn’t have my bag on me was when I was in the sea, but my friend was still on the boat so she had it,” she stated.
However, when she got back on board the vessel, her phone was missing from her bag.
Coates became frantic because her driver’s license was attached to her device, so she immediately asked the cruise DJ to alert the 50 boat attendees as to whether they’d seen it.
Unfortunately, nobody turned the phone over so tour organizers agreed to check everyone’s personal belongings.
“I was sort of at peace because if someone stole it, they’re gonna find it,” Coates recalled.
But that reassurance was short-lived because organizers couldn’t find anything.
After getting back to land, Coates used a friend’s device to check her online banking accounts, which appeared untouched.
She froze her bank accounts and remained optimistic.
“Lo and behold when I got home, I checked my mobile banking and a singular bank transfer of £12,242 [US $15,626] had been sent to someone called Jessica,” she said.
“My biggest mistake that holiday was putting my driving license in the back on my phone,’ she explained. “My birthday, on my driving license in the back of my phone, was my password and was also, the password to my online banking.”
Coates was devastated that her year’s worth of savings had vanished, so she contacted the Zante Greece police department and tour organizers, who she claims “were absolutely no help.”
The TikToker took things into her own hands and located her phone through “Find my iPhone.”
She discovered it had ended up in Birmingham, England, but when she shared this information with authorities, they didn’t offer the assistance she expected.
Eventually she had to open an identity fraud protection scheme because the thief had access to everything in her phone, from her photos to her online banking details. They also still had her driver’s license.
“So now, for the rest of my life, I am paying for protection against identity fraud because this person could take out as many loans, mortgages with my information,” Coates confessed.
She is now urging others to earn from her and avoid storing personal items, such as a driver’s license, in their phone case.
“The moral of the story is, do not put your ID in the back of your phone case if you’re going on holiday or ever,” she added.
It’s also long been advised to use pin numbers and passwords that aren’t related to your birth details.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up video, Coates revealed she was reimbursed after endless meetings with the bank and police officers, per Daily Mail.
“In my case, they got away with it, they got the money because I got the money back from the fraud protection and not from the person themselves,” Coates said.
