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Coping with lost or stolen wallets
Always assume your wallet has been stolen if you can't locate it after a reasonable search - far better to report a theft and have to cancel the report than to assume the wallet is misplaced and have to deal with the use and misuse of your identity and credit...
Coping with a lost/stolen wallet will be easier if you have previously photocopied both sides of everything in your wallet (driver license, credit cards, membership cards, etc.) Keep the copies in a safe but readily accessible place. You can also download/print our "Lost/Stolen Wallet Inventory & Emergency Checklist" to record the key information from your wallet contents, then store the list a safe place.
File a police report where the wallet was stolen. It establishes a record to combat fraud.
Never carry your original social security card, or even your number, in your wallet! While you should never carry your original Social Security card or even just the number in your wallet, consider reporting the theft of your wallet to the Social Security Administration fraud line: 1-800-269-0271. This will prevent or greatly impede the thief from obtaining a replacement card using the identity information from your wallet.
Don't ONLY contact the credit-card providers of the credit cards you had in your wallet; also notify the three major credit agencies to put a fraud alert on your credit report. By doing this, purchases made in your name usually won't hurt your credit rating, and the thief might not be issued credit without you being contacted.
* Place passwords on your credit card, bank, brokerage and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Use a password instead.
* Ask about information security procedures in your workplace or at businesses, doctor's offices or other institutions that collect personally identifying information from you. Find out who can access to your personal information and verify that it is handled and stored securely. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well. Find out if your information will be shared with anyone else. If so, ask if you can keep your information confidential.
* Keep your purse or wallet in a safe place at work.
Protect your purse!
* Protect your social security number. Don't give it out too freely, and don't carry your social security card on your person; leave it in a secure place (at home or in a bank safety deposit box).
If thieves steal your purse or wallet, you don't want them to also steal your identity.
Give your SSN only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other types of identifiers when possible. If your state uses your SSN as your driver's license number, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if your health insurance company uses your SSN as your account number.
Pay attention to your billing cycles...
* Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
* Cancel all unused credit accounts, and report lost/stolen cards immediately to the credit company's fraud unit.
Some credit card companies like VISA and MasterCard have voluntarily agreed to limit consumers' liability for unauthorized use of their credit cards — in most instances $50 per card — no matter how much time has elapsed since the discovery of the loss or theft of the card.
Many new cards include "zero responsibility" fraud protection, implying there's little or no risk of credit fraud. Beware! Even if you only have a "$50-limit" or "zero-responsibility" credit cards, identity thieves can still use your personal information to take over your credit accounts and open new ones. They may even use your good credit to get a job, take out a car loan, or rent an apartment.
Remember, even with some type of card "fraud protection", your losses may include not only some out-of-pocket financial losses, but substantial additional financial costs associated with trying to restore your credit and reputation in the community and correcting erroneous information for which the thief is responsible.
* Pictures on Credit Cards! Some issuers of bank and/or credit cards offer the option of adding the PHOTO of the named customer on the face of the card. If your issuer(s) offer this option, TAKE ADVANTAGE. It's certainly more difficult for someone else to use a card with your photo on it.
* When ordering new checks, pick them up at the bank, rather than having them sent to your home mailbox. Consider using only your first initial(s) rather than your full name so a thief won't know what to sign.
To save time, many people have their bank print every bit of personal info they can fit on personal checks to speed up check approval in the check-out line (and minimize what they have to write-in by hand). Resist the urge.
Print minimal info on checks! Don't put any information other than your name and address on your checks.
Also, keep a close watch on your checkbook both when you're writing checks and when it is lying around. A "shoulder-surfing" identity thief can memorize your name, address and phone number during the short time it takes you to write a check. Also, in many public places "shoulder surfing" criminals can stand nearby and watch you punch in your phone-card number, debit-card PIN, credit card number, or even listen in on your conversation if you give your credit-card number over the phone for a hotel room or rental-car. Don't carry more checks that you need. Keep extra checks in a secure place. Some thieves even use cleaning solvent to remove what is already written on a check, making it payable to themselves.
Some thieves even use cleaning solvent to remove what is already written on a check, making it payable to themselves. Write checks using a pen with thick, dark ink. Draw lines to fill in gaps in the spaces where you designate to whom a check is payable and the amount.John Brugger, a U.S. Postal Inspector in Washington, adds that consumers should "insist that their checks have built-in security features that help make them tamper-resistant to check washing or counterfeiting".
If your checks have been stolen or misused, immediately notify your bank, place a stop payment order, and close your checking account. Also, immediately report to your bank any irregularities in your bank statements. Report mail theft or tampering to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is listed in your phone book.
Guard your deposit slips!
GUARD deposit slips as closely as you do checks. Not only do they have your name, address and account number printed on them, but they can also be used to withdraw money from your account. All a thief has to do is write a bad check, deposit it into your account and use the "less cash received" line to withdraw your money.* ID theft already is covered under some homeowners' policies; others will add it for as little as $25 a year. A stand-alone policy costs from $60 to $200.
Beware false online job listings!
* Online recruiting business giants like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and HotJobs.com caution users about false online job listings that are sometimes posted by identity thieves to illegally collect personal information from unsuspecting job seekers.
* According to the FTC, over fifty percent of identity-theft victims first detected the fraud by monitoring their own accounts. The sooner you detect the fraud, the better your chances of recovering your money and good name/credit.
Check your bills/statements carefully and call companies if you do not receive regular bills in a timely manner. Make it your habit to review your bank and credit card statements as soon as you receive them and report any unauthorized transactions promptly so the accounts can be closed.
* Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (see list, above) every year. Make sure it is accurate and includes only those activities you've authorized. The law allows credit bureaus to charge you up to $9.00 for a copy of your credit report. By checking your report on a regular basis you can catch mistakes and fraud before they wreak havoc on your personal finances.
Don't underestimate the importance of this step. One of the most common ways that consumers find out that they're victims of identity theft is when they try to make a major purchase, like a house or a car. The deal can be lost or delayed while the credit report mess is straightened out. Knowing what's in your credit report allows you to fix problems before they jeopardize a major financial transaction.
If an identity thief is opening new credit accounts in your name, these accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. If you do find any inaccurate information, you should check your reports from the other two credit bureaus. Look for inquiries you didn't initiate, accounts you didn't open and unexplained debts on your legitimate accounts.
Don' let THEM become YOU. Check that information like your SSN; address(es); name and any variations, including initials, Jr., Sr., etc.; and employers is correct.
Inaccuracies in this information may also be due to typographical errors. Nevertheless, whether the inaccuracies are due to fraud or error, notify the credit bureau as soon as possible by telephone and in writing. Note: If your personal information has been lost or stolen, you should check all of your reports more frequently for the first year.
* Ask about information security procedures in your workplace. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that records are kept in a secure location. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well.
* Identity thieves can establish new cellular telephone service in your name, make unauthorized calls that seem to come from (and are billed to) your cellular phone, and/or make unauthorized charges by using your calling card and PIN. If this occurs, contact your service provider to close your existing account, and establish another one with a new PIN.
* When paying at stores, restaurants, and other businesses,be methodical at the payment counter, ensuring you retrieve your driver's license or other ID, credit card and your credit slip copy after your purchase.
* Keep good "backup information" about your accounts, just in case your wallet is lost or stolen. You'll want account numbers and phone numbers that can be used to report your losses or request new cards or emergency cash. You can photocopy your credit, debit, and ATM cards, as well as your driver's license, passport and other "wallet-borne" information —or, simply list key numbers on a handy sheet of paper.
"Keep these numbers in safekeeping or else they can become tools for someone with criminal intent" —says Deirdre Foley, of the FDIC's Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs in Washington D.C. You'll also want ready access to these papers, too. That's why a safe deposit box or other restricted area might not be a good storage place for these numbers in case you need immediate access at night or on a weekend or holiday.
For more information on dealing with lost wallets, jump to the FDIC's publication, "Your Wallet: A Loser's Manual".
Guide created: 02/07/08 (updated 07/24/09)
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