by "Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious" (shour)
Published 03/16/2017 at 00:07
by "Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious" (shour)
Published 03/16/2017 at 00:07
No Tags
STARS: 1
For fifteen minutes today, I was missing my wallet. It seems that I dropped it in the parking lot at Walmart (cue the jokes) . I got to church a few minutes later, and a few minutes after that, I realized that I didn’t have the wallet. Drove back to Walmart, checked the area where I had parked, no dice. Checked with customer service and they had it; someone had given it to the greeter likely not long after I had dropped it. Everything was present and intact: driver licence, carry licence, two debit cards, two credit cards, couple of membership cards, insurance cards, and three dollars. I know it was out of my possession for almost exactly 15 minutes, because I’d checked my watch leaving Walmart, and again when I’d returned.
Do I monitor my accounts and watch for suspicious activity, and pray for the best? Or do I cancel my credit and debit cards and spend the next week paying for everything with cash?
"Xyl0c41n3" (i-am-xyl0c41n3)
03/16/2017 at 00:16, STARS: 8
Don’t cancel anything. There really ARE good people out there. And it sounds like your wallet encountered one of them.
"cbell04" (cbell04)
03/16/2017 at 00:16, STARS: 2
One thing i will suggest is you should have all your cards set to notify you of any purchases via email or text if they don’t offer that cancel it and never look back.
"coqui70" (coqui70)
03/16/2017 at 00:47, STARS: 0
Yep - just monitor for bad transactions. You can go to the bank and get a new debit card on the spot - I’d do that just in case. Credit cards take a little longer.
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
03/16/2017 at 01:35, STARS: 1
The scumbags of the world are suprisingly rare. They just get a lot of coverage so it seems like every stranger might be an asshole, but it’s really the exception.
"Tazio, Count Fouroff" (tazio0625)
03/16/2017 at 01:47, STARS: 0
1. Get new ATM/debit cards right now...those are free or nearly so and easy at your financial institution.
2. Freeze your credit immediately! If you have a spouse or partner suggest they do the same.
3. If you aren’t ready to ask for new credit card numbers, check your account activity online daily for a month and weekly for five more months. If you see even one questionable transaction on an account, intervene at once and ask the issuer to cancel your card and send one with a new number. Hell, it’s worth doing regardless...I personally never heard of an issuer charging more than a dollar or two at most for a new/replacement card, although it’s a minor PITA.
Freezing your credit won’t stop theft of funds from your accounts but it will make identity theft for credit fraud impossible.
Best wishes and congrats on catching it early and getting your stuff back
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
03/16/2017 at 05:34, STARS: 1
monitor
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
03/16/2017 at 10:18, STARS: 0
In that situation, I would probably just monitor my accounts and credit for awhile. Getting new cards usually doesn’t cost anything, but when you tell the bank the reason why they’re likely to deactivate your old ones immediately. That is inconvenient. Likewise, freezing credit and fraud alerts are a pain in the ass. Due to three rounds of identify theft, I keep all my own stuff on lockdown. It requires advanced planning to make any kind of a financial move.