A Purse or Wallet is Not a Safe

Last night I had a dream that my purse was stolen. I went to visit someone, parked out front of a house and left my purse in the car since I was just running in for a minute. While I would never think of leaving my purse in my car – one minute or not – apparently I didn’t question this action in my dream state.

My dream continued when I went to leave and not only was my car gone, but so was my purse. Double whammy. I had to remember all of the information I kept in my purse and contact all of the companies and get everything shutdown, re-issued, etc. Since my cell phone was in my purse I couldn’t even use it to start the process. And, I remember the sinking feeling of knowing some thief had their hands on my personal information. Although I have lived this reality, albeit not by a purse theft, this was more like a nightmare!

When I woke up, I was relieved that it was just a dream, but it is a good reminder to be careful of what you carry in your purse or wallet if it is ever misplaced or stolen.

Do you know what is in your purse or wallet? If you lost yours, do you have a list of contact information so that you could minimize the damage and take care of everything immediately?

While modern times have brought along with it modern ways to steal identities, the old-fashioned purse or wallet stealing is alive and well. 

According to the Dallas Police Department, one of the most reported property crimes are those involving the theft of a purse or wallet.
(http://www.dallaspolice.net/content/11/66/uploads/pursewallettheftpreventiontips.pdf.)

Although you probably don’t think it will ever happen to you, consider the following:

1) Clean out your purse or wallet and be aware of the important information you carry around with you and what could happen if it got in the wrong hands.

2) Never carry anything that contains your social security number, these items can be stored in a safe place – a purse or wallet is not a safe place.

3) Consider only carrying around necessary cards and identification – do you really need to always carry around every credit or debit card you have, the same can be said about your insurance or prescription cards, you might want to consider storing these in a safe place and only accessing them when necessary.

There are also thieves who do not steal your actual purse or wallet, but will sift through it and take pictures of credit cards numbers, and other pertinent personal information. You can never be too careful, so be aware of what you carry with you and take the time to be pro-active and in control of the information important to you and your family and how you protect it – so my nightmare doesn’t become your reality.

 

photo by donna sutton