7) Contact your credit card companies as soon as possible to report your credit cards may have been stolen. The maximum wait time for doing this is 24 hours, but you should do this right away if you are certain there has been a theft. This is especially important to do for store credit cards since their security and reporting policies are often less stringent. If you can, apply for a new card for the same account. 

After calling your bank and credit card companies, follow up by sending a letter to them including your account number, when you noticed your card was missing and the date you first reported the loss. Request written verification for all accounts that you have closed along with a verification number.

Send all correspondence by certified mail with a return receipt requested. Keep copies of all letters and documents you send and receive.

  8) Call the credit reporting agencies, including equifax, experian and transunion to report your lost cards and other relevant items. Ask to have a fraud alert placed on your name and social security number.

Phone numbers for these three agencies are: Equifax - 1-888-766-0008; Experian -1-888-397-3742 and Trans Union - 1-800-680-7289. (Add a .com to each of these names, and you can go directly to their respective websites for more information.)

  9) Post flyers, if appropriate, offering a reward.
  
  10) Report your wallet lost or stolen to the police in the jurisdiction where it disappeared. It's good to have a police report that may help you in many areas including insurance claims, liability issues and more.

  11) If charges are made to any of your accounts between the time you lost your wallet and the time you suspended your credit and debit cards, inform your bank and then file another police report, unless the bank will do that for you. Send a letter to the card issuer's billing error address and describe each questionable charge and include the date the card was lost, when you first noticed the charges and when you first reported the problem to them.
     
  12) If your medical insurance card was stolen, notify your insurance company or, if your insurance is through your workplace, notify your human resources or personnel department. For video or rental cards, you may have to notify the businesses in writing so that you are not liable for items that are rented and never returned. Notify AAA if your card is gone, because you don't want someone to use your information if there is an accident; Request a replacement number.

  13) Obtain a new driver's license at the department of motor vehicles so that you have proof if you are stopped by the police while driving.

  14) If your social security card has been stolen, contact the U.S. Social Security administration at 1-800-772-1213 to request a replacement card and possibly new Social Security number.

  15) Check with the state attorney general's office to see if you can benefit from any consumer protection that might be available.

  16) Keep a log of all actions you take, all conversations, and contact information.

  17) Don't hesitate to buy a new wallet so you will have a place to keep everything in. If it makes you feel better, buy one with a chain. you could even use a money clip with only one credit card kept in it. Or ... you could do this now and perhaps save yourself from ever having to deal with a lost wallet.

We don't have any wallet specialists on staff, but if you need some ideas on how to prevent theft and fraud in your business, you can contact Gary Markey, CPA, CFE, CIA, Manager of the Stambaugh Ness Fraud Prevention and Detection Services team. You can call Gary at 717-757-6999 or 800-745-8233 or send him an email by using the form below.

*This information is provided as a courtesy and should not be substituted for paid legal advice.