Vistage CEO Solutions

Lost Your Wallet? What You Need to Do First to Protect Your Identity

Identity theft can be a major headache and time drain. It doesn’t just happen online. It happens on the streets. If your wallet or purse is stolen, you should assume that the thieves are also going to steal your identity, and take these actions immediately:

  • File a police report right away in the jurisdiction where your wallet/purse was stolen, and/or in your hometown. If the criminals steal your identity, the report proves to your creditors that there was a crime and that you were diligent.
  • Call the national credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert on your credit. The alert forces any company attempting to establish credit in your name to contact you by phone first. The national credit reporting agencies are:

Equifax: 800-525-6285
Experian: 888-397-3742
TransUnion: 800-680-7289

  • If you suspect that your Social Security number was stolen and might be used by someone else to obtain credit, loans, telephone accounts, or other goods and services, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ID Theft line at 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338) or go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/.
  • Call your credit card companies to cancel your cards and get replacements.

To avoid the pain of a lost or stolen wallet here’s a tip to dramatically reduce the time and damage of such a loss. Make a photocopy of your license and every card in your wallet. Copy the front and back of each card. Store this copy in a safe place. In the event that you lose your wallet, you will know what you had in it and all of the phone numbers to call should you need to suspend the accounts and replace the cards.

Here are more tips for protecting your identity:

Credit Cards

  • Don’t sign the back of your credit cards, instead write “Photo ID Required.”
  • When paying your credit card bills by check, don’t write the complete account number anywhere on your check. Write only the last four digits of your account number.
  • Don’t put any of your outgoing bills or payments in your home mail box to await pick up by your carrier. Identity thieves can steal these letters which contain your checking account number, your signature and more.   

Checks

  • When having checks printed, don’t include your Social Security number, home phone number or home address.
  • If you must put a phone number and address on your checks, then use your work phone and work address.

For more information on preventing online identity theft, see Identity Theft Strategies.

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This blog is offered by Vistage International, a global CEO organization and parent of Bizmore. As a CEO, who questions your answers?

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