Your Wallet is Stolen…..What Do You Do?

Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put “PHOTO ID REQUIRED.”

When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the “For” line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won’t have access to it.

Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your social security number printed on your checks! You can add it if it is necessary, but if you have it printed, anyone can probably find it.

Place the contents of your wallet on a copy machine. Copy both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the copies in a safe place. Also, carry a copy of your passport when you travel either here or abroad. We’ve all heard horror stories about fraud that’s committed in stealing a name, address, social
security number, and credit cards.

However, once you have completed all of the above, what do you do if your wallet or purse is stolen? Here’s some very important information to limit your damage in case this happens to you:

Everyone has certainly heard before that we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers on hand so that you
know who to call. Keep those numbers in a safe place where you can find them.

File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to your credit card banks you were diligent, and this is a important step toward an investigation if required.

This next step is extremely important and something many people fail to implement:

Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the social security fraud line number.

Equifax: 800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 888-397-3742
Trans Union : 800-6807289
Social Security Administration (fraud line):800-269-0271

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. This will make it very difficult for the thief to open a new account or charge a card in your name.

Doing all this as quickly as possible will certainly minimize any damage to you and your credit.