Mina Starsiak Hawk has had a challenging few weeks. She was the victim of identity theft and then had her purse and Social Security card stolen
Trouble began when she was mailed a Bank of America credit card bearing the name of her store, Two Chicks District Co., and discovered someone had opened an account using the store’s tax identification number, she reveals on the latest episode of her podcast, Mine AF.
Star of HGTV Good bones then received a statement with about 60 fraudulent transactions.
“Whoever this scammer is, they got 60 people to Venmo this money out of their accounts,” she says. “And it’s so sad because some of the Venmo was like ‘Venmo for puppy,’ ‘Venmo for food.’ Like, somebody thought they were going to get a puppy and they just scammed them with my store’s tax number.”
When Starsiak Hawk contacted the bank, she was asked to bring copies of personal documents including her driver’s license, social security card and proof of address.
“I do all that, and before I leave, I ask the guy, I’m like, ‘Can you shred all this stuff before I leave?'” she explains. “And he says, ‘Just hold on to it for about another week because you might need it.'”
Mina Starsiak Hawk.
Mina Starsiak Hawk/Instagram
But in another unfortunate turn of events, her purse – which still contained documents – was stolen shortly afterwards through the open window of her car
She and her husband, Steve Hawk, met at their therapist’s house for a session, and drove up separately, she says. As Steve approached her car, she was working on her laptop and rolled down the window to greet him. When she put the computer down and went out, she forgot to close the window.
Mina Starsiak Hawk will reopen the recently closed 2 Chicks District Co. store. in a new city (exclusive)
“No one even had to break into my car,” he admits. “They just had to walk past him and grab my bag that had all my credit cards in it, my laptop that had all my passwords saved in it, because I fight the bus and I just autosave them, I mean everything.”
She later realized that her stolen bag still contained a copy of her Social Security card.
“I just broke the eff on the freeway driving to the grocery store because I was like, ‘Oh my God, how stupid could I be,'” she says.
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Mina Starsiak Hawk and Steve Hawk.
Mina Starsiak Hawk Instagram
Mina said that it is difficult to shake off thoughts like: “If I had done everything right from the beginning, this would not have happened.” The Bank of America fraud would not have occurred if I had adequate fraud protection.”
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Despite the big setback, she is moving forward with new projects, including the recent opening of the Two Chicks online store.
“I’ve been up at 5 a.m. every morning this week,” she says. “I practiced every morning at 6. And I’m in the shop every day trying to make it as amazing as possible to give it the best chance of success.”
“Every week I’m in my little podcast space recording, trying to do something meaningful for you,” adds Mina, who has two children with Steve: 5-year-old son Jack and 3-year-old daughter Charlie. “I’m trying to be a good mom. I am trying. And I guess that’s the point of today’s episode, no risk, no reward.”
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Mina revealed to PEOPLE in December that she’s looking forward to a “beautiful fresh start” as she plans to reopen her recently closed Indianapolis store in nearby Noblesville, Indiana.
Mina and Steve are even looking for homes to renovate there after her long-running HGTV series ends Good bones last fall.
“There are so many cool Victorian Queen Annes,” she said. “There was one that I kind of had my eye on that’s like a block off the square that’s just a mess, which is perfect for me.”
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Source: HIS Education