So this morning I had plans to sleep in (until at least 7 am), take a shower and ease into my day. That didn't happen. Instead I woke up to find my Amazon account had been hacked, and I know they store your credit card info. and it's nearly impossible to avoid it. I've tried removing it, editing so it's one number off so it won't go through, etc. but the info. stays there. I found out at 1 am my time, someone in Russia (or with a Russian email) changed my password, locking me out. I called customer service who was less than helpful. They filled out a "compromised account" form and someone will email me in a day or two. They couldn't get into my account without the new email and new password matching to shut the account down. This was totally unexpected - so how does someone trying to simplify their life handle the unexpected? I can't speak for everyone, but I handled it logically and methodically, step by step.
I did call Amazon first, as I said. Next, I tried to contact my bank but of course it's a bank holiday today, so I moved all my money from my checking/debit account to my savings account - something I taught my son after someone drained his checking account last year by hacking his xbox account. Then I let everyone at home know what happened so they can make sure their accounts are protected, money is moved, etc. Next I called PayPal because it's tied to my bank account - and they were VERY helpful. They took all the proper precautions and suggested I change passwords on ALL bank/credit cards so if a stranger goes to use them, they won't match. I changed all of them immediately, then got the proper things done on each account until Amazon's case worker gets around to emailing me "in a day or two". I asked them, "Do you know how much stuff you can buy online in just a day or two?!" They said there's nothing else they can do and nothing I can do through them but wait.
Okay, so what do you do when life hands you the unexpected? It's very urgent, it's very important, it becomes THE top priority to handle, and you already know everything else will either have to wait or be cancelled. The answer is to do what you CAN, but don't let your emotions get the better of you. I was shocked, worried, stressed, full of anxiety, nervous, and my mind was racing asking, "What do I do next?" And that was just the first 2 minutes. The most important thing you can do is to STOP. THINK. RESPOND instead of reacting. (In my case, the first step should always be to PRAY. If that's not your thing, that's up to you, just move forward from here.)
1. Prioritize - what needs to happen first? What's got the most potential to stop or slow the problem? Or who needs to be notified FIRST? What will keep it from getting worse?
2. Organize your steps - work down a short list from the most important to the least important, whether it be who to call, what to do, where to go, just stay calm and do one thing at a time. You can't fix multiple things all at once so why stress over them all at once? It does nothing to help you or your ability to deal with the situation.
3. Double check - go back through the situation and think about if you missed anyone/anything that still needs to happen. Settle your mind down and think carefully. This way, once you get through all you can do on your end, you can let go of the worst of it.
4. Wait - this is the hardest part, but it's necessary in almost every case. Either you wait to hear back from someone, or you wait for results, or you have to wait until further action can be taken (more information is necessary). Since this part can't be avoided, don't stess over it. That won't stop bad things from happening anyway. Do something else to relax you, or be productive, or clean, or take your mind off it however you choose - but wait in a calm state, not an anxious one - it won't help.
5. Results will vary on this one depending on the situation. It may change everything, it may fizzle out and be resolved. Either way, it's a new set of decisions to make. Just try to handle those unexpected things one at a time, in a less stressful way.
As for me, I'm in the waiting stage until Amazon gets back to me. I've done all I can from my end, so now I will go through my day normally - refusing to stay upset and nervous - and we'll move forward once I hear back from them.
Stay calm. Breathe. Think. Respond. Be at peace.
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