Comments on: What I did when my wife lost her wallet

By: Janet

Janet — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:58:33 +0000

I really like the idea of having copies of both the front and back of your cards. To take it a step further, I would also include a page of my bank account info, including the routing and account number to keep on file at home. That way, when you’re in the process of replacing things, you will have the numbers on hand.

Another suggestion I have is keeping the important numbers (credit bureaus, credit card companies, bank number) in your cell phone. That way, you can call the companies to help prevent identity theft.

Another lesson I learned is to keep my passport at home. When I lost my wallet before, my passport was my saving grace in terms of ID. Some DL facilities may also accept an old DL as form of ID as well, so you may want to hold onto an old DL/ID, just in case.

By: Mary@SimplyForties

Mary@SimplyForties — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 15:42:30 +0000

Call the credit bureaus and put a freeze on your reports. That way no one can open new credit lines in her name.

TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
Phone: 800-680-7289

Equifax
Consumer Fraud Division
Phone: 800-525-6285 or: 404-885-8000

Experian
Experian’s National Consumer Assistance
Phone: 888-397-3742

Good luck!

By: Christina

Christina — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:11:26 +0000

These are very good ideas. I had my wallet stolen out of my office at work a few years ago (I used to work on a college campus). It added the extra steps of notifying the policy and putting a fraud alert on my credit cards. I never paid for “credit protection.” I simply used annualcreditreport.com and checked one of the three bureaus every four months (that way it was all free).

One thing that freaked me out was that a thief would know where I lived and what kind of car I drove (driver’s license and insurance card in my wallet). I made sure that I was extra careful with locking my home and car and was aware of my surroundings at all times.

By: stocks

stocks — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:26:04 +0000

@joe king
I really like the idea of having it online, but do you ever wonder about privacy? Maybe save as a password-protected zip file? That would at least keep the bots out…
I’m gonna have to look further into having the information readily available wherever I am.

By: Joe King

Joe King — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:59:35 +0000

I always keep a front/back copies of everything in my wallet saved in a special Gmail (apps for domain) account. This way no matter where I’m at (vacation, airport, etc.), if my wallet goes missing, I can get all of the info I need from any internet connected device.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:53:13 +0000

Hope it turns out ok for you… I can symphathize, I’ve had to do the card cancelling dance after losing my wallet back in college (more than once unfortunately). But I have to agree with the prevention idea – minimize cards and important things in the wallet so in the event it’s lost or stolen, there is less dancing around needed.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:44:46 +0000

Sorry that happened. I didn’t realize there was such a process involved in canceling and changing over credit cards.

By: Troy

Troy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:22:37 +0000

sorry to hear that. sounds like quite a hassle. Here are my thoughts.

Only carry drivers license and one debit card. then, in your instance, two phone calls.

Life is simpler that way. My wife and I…that is it basically for us.

Instead of “carrying” less cards, why not just “have” less cards.

Fraud protection? with no cards, no need.

automatic payments? From debit cards (linked to checking) you don’t replace the checking account, just the card, so there is nothing to “unhook”

how convienent are all those cards now?

By: BSCC

BSCC — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:20:30 +0000

Losing your wallet/purse always sets off a chain of events that can definitely make your head spin. I lost my wallet about 4 months ago and thank God I had done my due diligence (made copies, had current phone numbers) and I felt proud that I dealt with the situation efficiently and quick. The only hiccup I had is that I couldn’t buy an alcoholic beverage for about 2 weeks since I didn’t have my ID!

By: stocks

stocks — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:05:11 +0000

Making a copy of the cards, both front and back, is always a good idea, because that way, you have the card numbers if ever needed.
Filling out the Identity Theft Affadivit on the FTC’s site will help with the paperwork concerning banks and credit card companies. Also, going to annualcreditreport.com, you can get a free credit report to see what is happening..
Sorry to hear about the loss, it sucks trying to get it all straightened out..