A few weekends ago I was trying to access my bank’s services online but their website was down. I was able to utilize the 24-hour system over the phone, but I had to enter my account number and a personal access code. The situation made me consider what I would do if I needed to access my banking system through different channels than usual. Specifically, who would I need to contact and what information would I need to provide if my wallet was lost or stolen?

Thankfully, my husband and I have considered this scenario before and had taken some steps that would help us if this situation were to arise. This is a very easy system to implement but can really be handy in the event your wallet is lost or stolen.

1. Took inventory of our wallets. We took everything out of our wallets and decided what needed to be in there and what was better left at home in a safe place. The “keep in the wallet” category included one credit card, debit card, driver’s license, auto insurance card, medical insurance cards, and store discount/membership cards. We do not carry our social security cards in our wallets nor any other information that contains our social security number. We know now exactly what information is in our wallets and who we would need to notify in case of loss or theft.

2. Photocopied the items that remained in our wallets. Using our home photocopier, we copied both the back and front of all the cards that remained in our wallet. The front of these cards provide us with the account numbers and the back of the cards give the contact numbers of whom to call if they are lost or stolen. This information is then stored securely at home where we keep our other personal information. We used our home photocopier to ensure that our personal information stayed that way - private. I’ve mentioned previously some concerns about the security of copiers so it is prudent to make sure that your information is secure on the copier you are using.

In the event of theft, we would need to contact a lot of different places, so we developed a list of who we would need to contact and the appropriate phone number. These are listed on a sheet of paper that we keep with the above photocopied information:

1. Credit bureaus. We have the phone numbers for each of the credit bureaus. We would contact each one and ask that a fraud alert be placed. (The agencies are supposed to contact each other when an alert is placed but we would contact each individually to make sure they have all been notified.)
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; (Source: Federal Trade Commission).

2. Local police department. We have the contact number for the police department and we would file a report of the theft and keep a copy of that report for documentation purposes.

3. Driver’s license bureau. We would contact them to let them know the license was stolen and then we would need to go and get a replacement license with a new number.

4. Social security office. We don’t carry anything that would compromise our social security number. However, if we felt that our numbers had been stolen, we have the appropriate contact numbers listed.

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