The Best Insurance for a Stolen Wallet

It’s frustrating enough when it happens. You’ve discovered that you’re the victim of a stolen wallet. Not only have you lost cash, you probably have a driver’s license and credit cards to cancel and replace. Worst of all, you have the headache of identity theft to deal with. Preparation is the best insurance against this unfortunate event.

Take a few minutes every six months to photocopy the front and back of everything in your wallet. You’ll have to cancel your credit cards as soon as they are stolen, but if you don’t have the actual cards with the 800 numbers in front of you, reaching the right department will be a difficult process. With the front and back of the card photocopied, you’ll be able to cancel your cards within minutes.

Once you’ve canceled your credit cards, ask each credit reporting agency to place a fraud alert on your name. That way, people can’t apply for new credit cards using your information.

The only thing left to do now is file a police report. Even if you have no hope of ever seeing your stolen wallet again, file the report. This shows creditors that you are on top of the situation and are responsible for your loss. You’ll accomplish in a short time what could have taken hours or days – provided you invested the time upfront to get the contents of your wallet photocopied and filed in a secure place in your home.

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