What To Do If Your Wallet Is Stolen

 
Losing your wallet is not as hard to do as you may think; for this reason alone, you should limit the contents that you place inside of your wallet. When you misplace your wallet, or your wallet is stolen, you will need to cancel out accounts, order replacement cards, and file police reports. The less information inside of your wallet, the less damage control you will need to do.Acceptable and Unacceptable Contents Ultimately, you will decide what items are kept in your wallet; however, you should keep some of the items listed below out of your wallet for your own safety. If you are going to carry a credit card inside of your wallet, carry no more than two at-a-time. If your wallet is stolen, you will only need to suspend the two credit cards.Here are other acceptable items to keep in your wallet:• Driver’s License• Contact Information• Emergency Cash• Coupons• Rewards Cards• Debit Cards.There are some items that you should not carry inside of your wallet. Those items include:• Spare Keys• Blank Checks• Passwords• ATM Cards• Extra Credit Cards• Gift Cards• Receipts• Pin Numbers• Social Security Card• Birth Certificate.Take Immediate Action You should always know what to do if your wallet is stolen. There are steps you will need to take in order to retrieve the wallet, or prevent identity theft from happening to you.• Step One – Make sure your wallet is actually lost. Sometimes it will be in your home or bedroom, which is why you should conduct a thorough search. If you come up empty, proceed with step two.• Step Two – Contact all of your credit lenders to report your cards stolen. Once your report the cards stolen, those cards are suspended, and you will receive a new card and number.• Step Three – Alert the credit bureau so a credit freeze can be placed. Before you are extended a line of credit, proof of identification will be required.• Step Four  Contact the police department. If you become a victim of identity theft, the police will have on record that your wallet was stolen and details of the personal and credit information that was inside.• Step Five – Report your stolen or lost driver’s license to the Department of Motor Vehicles.Lost Social Security Card You should never keep your social security card inside of your wallet. If you are visiting the doctor, applying for a job, or going out of the country, you will need your social security card; otherwise, it should be left at home in a safe place.You may be saying, I lost my social security card, so what is next? The first step you need to take is contacting the Social Security Administration. You can do that via the Internet, or in person. You will not be able to apply for a replacement card over-the-telephone. Identification is required before you can receive your replacement card. The types of identification accepted are determined by the Social Security Administration.Identity Theft You should always protect your identity. If another person assumes your identity, they could not only run up your credit, but they could end up in serious legal trouble. You will have to spend a great deal of time proving that you did not make the purchases, or that you did not break the law. Proving identity theft may seem like an easy task, but it is not. The truth is, you might have to wait months and years before items are placed on your credit report, or criminal record. The longer it takes for an item to show up, the more difficult it will be to prove that you were not the responsible party.It is your wallet, and you will decide what goes inside. If you want to avoid some of the mishaps above, you should only put acceptable items inside of your wallet. You can save yourself the time, and the headache.