Identity Theft and Stolen Wallets

I hope you’re reading this before your wallet or purse is stolen. If you are, follow the steps below to keep danger of identity theft to a minimum.

• Don’t carry your social security card
• Carry only one credit card - make a copy of both sides and keep in a safe place at home
• Make a list of membership cards you carry - include account numbers and contact info
• Make a copy of your insurance card - both sides - keep in a safe place at home
• Don’t write your PIN number on your ATM or debit card - don’t write it on anything else in your wallet either
• Get ‘WalletLock’ from LifeLock for stolen wallet recovery assistance.

If you’ve lost your wallet or purse, you need to immediately take steps to minimize the damage.

• File a Police Report - important. This proves the date, time and location of the theft or loss.
• Lost Driver’s License - contact the DMV of your state and report it.
• Contact your bank - report stolen ATM or debit card. If you had  your checkbook in your purse, get a stop payment on the range of check numbers you were carrying. There will probably be a fee for this but  you won’t be liable for any unauthorized checks that were written. Consider closing that account and opening a new one. Remember to change any payments that are on automatic withdrawals.
• Change PIN numbers
• Social Security Card - report stolen or lost card to the Social Security Administration fraud hotline at 1-800-772-1213
• Put a Fraud Alert on your credit report - contact any of the credit bureaus and request a fraud alert. It will need to be renewed every 90 days. TransUnion - 800-680-7289 - Equifax - 800-525-6285 - Experian - 888-397-3742
• Contact your credit card companies - you can find your account numbers and Customer Service numbers on your credit card statements. Report loss or theft and request a new account number.
• Insurance Card - request a new card - report old one as lost or stolen
• Membership Cards - Contact any places you have a membership with like a library card, gym, country club, etc. Let them know of the loss/theft and get a new card.
• House keys - have your door locks rekeyed or install new ones
• Car Keys - get a locksmith or car dealership to rekey your car locks.
• Cell Phone - call your cell provider immediately. You’ll be responsible for calls until you report it lost or stolen.
• Credit Monitoring - sign up for credit monitoring or an identity theft protection service like ‘Identity Guard’ or ‘Trusted ID’ that will monitor your credit  daily for changes. Compare these services here.
• Order your credit report - if you don’t use a credit monitoring service, get your credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com. Wait a month after the theft to get one because it will take that long to show up on your report.

LifeLock Identity Theft Protection offers recovery assistance if your wallet is ever lost or stolen. They call it ‘WalletLock’. One call to their 800 number is all it takes to have a specialist contact each credit card, bank or document issuing company, cancel your affected accounts. They will also complete the paperwork and all the steps necessary to replace your lost documents, including your credit/debit cards, driver’s license, social security card, insurance cards, checkbook - even travelers checks - all for free as part of their service.