Help with Next Steps--Lost Wallet

[flipstress]

Today started out beautifully but (or maybe "and so") I had the urge to drive out to mall-ville and do some shopping. (I normally stay home on Saturday mornings). I impulsively stopped in at Half-Price books and got engrossed in looking at knitting books.

My purse is almost always like an appendage to my body; I carry it close to me everywhere I go--a habit from my Manila days. Today, though, I was careless and put it below a chair across the shelf I was busy with. The chair and the purse were a little behind me as I greedily browsed through the knitting books. When it was time to pay, my wallet was not in my purse!

I think it was stolen...or (I hope, I hope) I could have left it at the daycare yesterday evening when I picked up my friend's daughter and had to show some ID. I am dejected but I have called the lost-credit card phone number and reported the loss of those cards I think were in my wallet. (I still have my recent TransUnion credit report so I was able to match the list of credit cards with what I physically have, and I reported those I don't have as lost.)

Questions:
1. I think I have my social security card in my wallet. Can I have my SSN changed? I will go over to the SSN website right away.

2. How do I make it so that no one can apply for a credit card or loan under my name, address, and SSN? Is that when I have to pay that fee to the different credit reporting agencies for a credit freeze?

3. My Drivers License was also in my wallet. I suppose it will not be hard to get a replacement for that, you think?

Thanks for answers and other advice on what else to do.

I called the daycare but they are closed, so I left a message. I also called my friend with the young daughter, in case somehow the wallet is at their house.

 

[simple girl]

Questions:
2. How do I make it so that no one can apply for a credit card or loan under my name, address, and SSN? Is that when I have to pay that fee to the different credit reporting agencies for a credit freeze?

You can have the freeze put on your account for free. I've done it before. In fact, you call any of the 3, and just follow the prompts. Simple.

Good luck...sorry about you losing your wallet. Such a pain!

 

[dex]

Not to freak you out but, if a person did steal your wallet; they have everything to steal your identity.

Call all the agencies you have in the wallet and tell them what happened and ask them what you can do to protect yourself.

You should call the cc companies ASAP to limit your liability.

Check your credit reports on line often.

PS - there is no need to carry your SS card - you only need to give your number to financial institutions for tax reporting purposes.

 

[flipstress]

It once was "lost", but now it's found!

Not to freak you out but, if a person did steal your wallet; they have everything to steal your identity...

PS - there is no need to carry your SS card - you only need to give your number to financial institutions for tax reporting purposes.

I was freaked out... but I found my wallet--I never had it in the store with me.

Sorry for wasting your time but thanks for all the advice.

I learned:
- that I don't have to carry my SSN card with me
- that I can put freezes for free with the credit-reporting agencies
- that once I've reported cards as lost, I can't then report them as found afterwards
- that I need to pay more attention to where stuff is
- that I can flip out easily

Anyway, Saturday is beautiful again...back to mall-ville

 

[OAG]

Assume Identity Theft and go here to start: Deter. Detect. Defend. Avoid ID Theft

 

[W2R]

I was freaked out... but I found my wallet--I never had it in the store with me.

Sorry for wasting your time but thanks for all the advice.

I learned:
- that I don't have to carry my SSN card with me
- that I can put freezes for free with the credit-reporting agencies
- that once I've reported cards as lost, I can't then report them as found afterwards
- that I need to pay more attention to where stuff is
- that I can flip out easily

Anyway, Saturday is beautiful again...back to mall-ville

So glad to hear that you found it!!!

I did the same thing with my keys last year, while on a trip. Looked everywhere, asked everyone in the hotel and at various functions. Went to every restaurant I had visited and asked. I found them later when i returned home.

 

[free4now]

Another thing to consider: If your wallet were stolen from your unattended purse in a knitting store, that would probably be an opportunity crime rather than a determined attack. The likelihood of hardened identity thieves trolling knitting stores for unattended purses seems low to me. In that scenario it's probably just someone who saw some fancy knitting supplies that they couldn't afford and made an impulsive decision If it were me, I'd wait a few days and see if the wallet turned up; sometimes people drop the cashless wallet in a mailbox and the postman delivers it intact. I think you've got something like 30 days to report it missing and still qualify for credit card coverage. But of course I take no responsibility if this backfires. Glad to hear you found it.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Its a terrible feeling to lose something important. On vacation we left our Garmin in a bar. Walked over two miles realizing we didn't have it. Went back and found it fell on the floor in the booth. What a relief..

 

[haha]

My purse is almost always like an appendage to my body; I carry it close to me everywhere I go--a habit from my Manila days.

It is often easy to spot women who grew up in places other than America by the far greater attention they pay to keeping attached to their purses, keeping their laptops right in front of them, etc. I sometimes see Americans walk off to the restroom leaving a laptop sitting on the table in a coffee shop. It looks like insanity to me, but I guess they usually get away with it.

I got my pocket picked once at Churchill Downs, and once on the street in Colombia. That was enough for me, I am one careful dude now and forever.

BTW Flipstress, glad you found your wallet and the emergency is over

Ha

 

[unclemick]

Half length Truckers wallet chained to my belt with an ACE Hardware metal D ring not the little leather loop!

Lost my wallet once - circa 1980.

The SO bought me a small Trucker's wallet at the Cowlitz County fair.

Ford.

heh heh heh -

 

[REWahoo]

Half length Truckers wallet chained to my belt with an ACE Hardware metal D ring not the little leather loop!

No Dickies outfit would be complete without the correct accessories...

 

[CuppaJoe]

I got worried about that recently and xeroxed all the cards I carry; should make it easier to deal with if I ever lose my wallet. Put them in a binder locked in a file cabinet away from my SS card.

The first thing to do when something like that happens is the hardest, stay calm! Didn't work for me when I found fraud on my credit card statement but the customer service rep. did a good job of calming me down; it was weird because I do a lot of calming others down at w*rk.

Glad you found it.

 

[Nords]

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/my-wallet-came-mail-today-31718.html

I was freaked out... but I found my wallet--I never had it in the store with me.
Sorry for wasting your time but thanks for all the advice.

Well, I'm glad that you don't need to follow all the advice in the above thread.

Now that you have it back, take CuppaJoe's advice about making copies. It's a colossal pain to look up all those notification phone numbers.

Then go through the wallet's contents and decide what you don't mind losing. I only carry one credit card in my wallet now, and only one blank check.

I'm glad my passport was up-to-date and available for ID to get all the new cards issued. Without my passport, I have no idea how things would've been handled.

 

[cantlogin]

flipstress, I have nightmares about loosing my wallet. The joy and relief I felt when I read that yours had been relocated has made my day. I can’t believe how happy I am that YOU don’t have to worry about it any more.

 

[FinanceDude]

I had something amazing happen with a lost wallet once. Somehow I left m wallet on a watering establishment I used to frequent. Everything but my SS card was in there. This was many years ago before the Internet but I was still mad.

The most sacred thing in there was the senior high school picture of my deceased mom. It was one of the only photos I had of her, and the only wallet.

I put an ad in the local newspaper, just asking for the photo back. A week later, the owner of the bar got an envlelope anonymously droppef off, containing my wallet, and all my personal info in it, INCLUDING the photo of my mom. The money of course was gone ($50) but I could CARE less.......

I even posted a thank you in the paper to the criminal that took it. I figured they had some shred of conscience, and I wanted to commend them for that......

 

[flipstress]

flipstress, I have nightmares about loosing my wallet. The joy and relief I felt when I read that yours had been relocated has made my day. I can’t believe how happy I am that YOU don’t have to worry about it any more.

Wow, thanks! I'm glad to have brought some happiness to you.

BF says I should feel contrite for suspecting my fellow human beings of theft. He was joking but I admit I am a bit overcautious. Even at parties at friends' homes, it took me a few years to relax and leave my purse unattended instead of carrying it with me while socializing.

In Manila, I really didn't have very many bad experiences with pickpockets and hold-uppers but there were always stories by friends and acquaintances. There were only two instances I can remember of actually being a victim (or intended victim). Once, I had a new purse slit by a pickpocket but nothing was stolen. I wasn't aware of the purse being cut while it was going on, but I was bummed because it was a new purse.

Another time, I was riding in a jeepney (public transport) that was stalled in traffic. A young man strode towards the vehicle and the next thing I knew, he had cut my gold chain from the back side of my neck, but I was sweaty so the tight-fitting chain must have stuck and he wasn't able to get it, or maybe he was a novice.

 

[BigBob]

I learned:
...
- that I can flip out easily

You can retain your name! Press On!!

 

[haha]

BF says I should feel contrite for suspecting my fellow human beings of theft. He was joking but I admit I am a bit overcautious. Even at parties at friends' homes, it took me a few years to relax and leave my purse unattended instead of carrying it with me while socializing.

Not that I want to contribute to possibly uneeded caution- but thieves are everywhere. Years ago I was dating a New York social register type. My friends kept having things turn up missing.

A few weeks later the girl's brother came by and dropped all the stuff off. It seems that one of his family responsibilities was returning what his klepto sister had stolen. Expect the best, but prepare for the rest.

As Delfina said- "Il mondo e' bello perche' e' vario"..."

Ha

 

[Khan]

Not that I want to contribute to possibly uneeded caution- but thieves are everywhere. Years ago I was dating a New York social register type. My friends kept having things turn up missing.

A few weeks later the girl's brother came by and dropped all the stuff off. It seems that one of his family responsibilities was returning what his klepto sister had stolen. Expect the best, but prepare for the rest.

As Delfina said- "Il mondo e' bello perche' e' vario"..."

Ha

I wonder how he got that assignment.

 

[Zoocat]

Just FYI
If your wallet, purse, etc., is stolen. You can report it to the Federal trade commision. It's good to have a report on file in case of really bad repercussions, like ID theft.

Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
Room 130
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
www.ftc.gov

 

[flipstress]

You can retain your name! Press On!!

Yes, I'm (a) flip--in more ways than one.

This thread has turned up more good advice for me:
- copying wallet contents
- FTC reporting
- being cautious at parties, too, or rather carrying minimum stuff to events
(I was thinking even before haha's last post about why I should carry all my usual wallet contents in my purse at parties; it's not like I'll be using my credit cards there. It's similar to one post in the thread that Nords linked--why carry all your cards, cash, etc., when going to the gym?)