Need some help DU ... mrs. wt2's handbag was just stolen

[welshTerrier2]

lost all her credit cards, cellphone, cash, driver's license, address book, the works ...

we stopped service on the phone and are in the process of notifying all credit card companies ... she also notified the police and we'll call our insurance company tomorrow ...

any other advice would be very much appreciated ...

[trotsky]

1. Notify the big 3 credit bureaus

and have them put your account on a fraud alert. If you do that no one will be able to open credit in your name.

My wife's purse was stolen two years ago and it was a pain. They mainly just wrote a bunch of checks - be prepared for a few companies that give you a rough time over it. But just direct them to your bank.

[welshTerrier2]

16. will do !!

i read something that you can call just one and then they notify the other two ... not sure if that's the case but will check it out ...

i haven't asked her yet but i think she might have had her checkbook in there ... we also have all these stupid store cards like for BJ's Warehouse ... no clue what the deal is with those ...

sounds like the checkbook could be a real problem ...

[DebJ]

2. <<<HUGS>>> Been there. Stopped carrying a handbag OR wallet

for several years after mine was stolen twice at work. Just carried a bankcard and my driver's license for many years in a pocket.

Sorry for your troubles. Getting the id's again is the biggest pain...though come to think of it, having just married, I've got to go do all that again myself. Darn.

[welshTerrier2]

9. thanks ..

she's been on my case for years because i carry all my ID loose in my pocket .. i really think that's the safest way to go ...

[livetohike]

3. Check with Social Security

too. If her card was in her purse, someone may try to use it to establish I.D.

Also voter's ID card, if she had one.

Sorry for the incident. It's sad.

[welshTerrier2]

10. no social security info

one good thing in Massachusetts is that they allow you to use a computer generated ID number on your driver's license instead of your social security number ... she opted not to use her ss number ...

and we don't have voter ID cards ...

thanks so much for your input ... it's going to be a long night making phone calls ...

[Qutzupalotl]

4. Did she have her house keys in there?

If so, change the locks on your front door. They can get your address off the license.

Sounds like you've done everything right in this case.

Most likely, though, they'll just take the cash and dump the rest.

[welshTerrier2]

11. no house keys but ...

she thinks she had an extra car key to either my car or her car ... not sure what to do about that ...

maybe change the car locks ...

[Qutzupalotl]

21. If you can lock your garage,

or if you have an opener, you're probably okay. They'd have to steal the car while you're home, which would be a ballsy move. It's doubtful they could find the car anywhere else.

[welshTerrier2]

24. well, maybe

she had the car registration in her handbag and parks in the city right near where the handbag was stolen ...

if someone were very motivated, the could probably walk thru all the parking garages in the area looking for her license plate and type of car and color ... it wouldn't be all that difficult to do ...

[Qutzupalotl]

25. Call the DMV

maybe you can get new tags and/or registration if you explain what happened. Good luck.

[Skittles]

5. research on the internet on "identity theft"

get some advice to prevent that - NOW.

[welshTerrier2]

12. thanks ...

all over that ... looks like the FTC has some good info ...

[silverlib]

6. Here's a link - Identity theft

Go here in addition to calling the credit card companies.

http://www.creditreporting.com/idtheft.html?id=1908

This gives you the numbers of the credit bureaus to call. This puts you where they have to call you within 24 hours and notify you of credit applications, even if they are your applications, of course. The only thing this stops for you is instant credit. Heck, this keeps me from spontaneously buying a car, so it's not a bad thing for me.

And, as mentioned by another poster, get your house and car rekeyed, and any other keys that could be "followed" by information in the purse.

[welshTerrier2]

13. thanks, silverlib

i'll check that link ...

here's the link we've been working from so far:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheftmini.htm

[Massacure]

7. There are 4 big steps

Contact the three credit bureaus
Contact your credit card companies
File a police report
Contact the Federal Trade Commission

[welshTerrier2]

14. we're working on it now ...

one pain is that she wasn't sure whether she had "extra" credit cards to my accounts ... soooo, i'm going through the same junk with my credit cards too ...

[Lisa]

8. sympathies ...

I had a close call with my wallet last weekend (luckily someone returned it). Replacing the ID and other cards was more of a concern than the cash (such as it was). If you've alerted the credit card companies and the phone people, it sounds like you've already done much of the damage control. Any bank cards? See someone at the Department of Motor Vehicles for the replacement license, I guess -- and just in case somebody commits a felony and tries to impersonate mrs. wt2.

And address books can be redone using old correspondence and business cards. (The chances are that if you don't hear from somebody in the next 6 months, you probably wouldn't have needed to get in touch anyway.)

Again, my commiserations with mrs. wt2. It's a nuisance, BUT it could have been worse!

Just in case, for next time (hope there isn't one) -- a thing I've found useful is to write down the ID numbers (or just photocopy my cards) and hide that page somewhere, so I have numbers to recite to the authorities if something goes missing.

p.s. and what livetohike said about the official government stuff (Social Security, voting). Hope she didn't lose her birth certificate, because that's the sort of thing they ask for when trying to verify that you're the real claimant -- can take a while for them to sort it out.

In my case, there'd be my provincial health care card (in the States, your health care provider may also have issued a document?)

[welshTerrier2]

15. much appreciated, Lisa ...

nope, no birth certificate in there ...

there was a great line in MASH one time where this Korean guy was asked if he could identify himself ...

his answer: yes, i'm me ...

the response: well, i guess that's good enough for me ...

if it were only that easy ...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. Look in the trashcans around the area where it was taken for it

Usually they take the cash and toss the bag...depending on where this happened

[welshTerrier2]

18. thanks, NSMA ...

no go on this ...

she checked the ladies room and all the trash cans in the area ...

and, i think this qualifies as a catch-22, her bank refused to help her because she couldn't show them a photo ID and when they asked her her date of birth, they had the wrong date in their computer ... unbelievable ...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

19. what a hassle! I am so sorry

hope you get through it fast

[welshTerrier2]

20. you know, it might seem crazy ...

but i think bush is behind this somehow ...

sheesh, i think i'm getting lounge-itis ... i'm not used to posting so much over here ... i'm OK ... i'll be fine ... soon, all this will go away and i can get back to talking about politics ...

[Hoping4Change]

23. Sorry to hear about that. I once had a pickpocket steal my

wallet from my purse after I had just left a bank so I know how it feesl. I got great advise from the teller at the bank I now follow.

Keep money and ID separate. Not only just this insure only one wallet might get snatched but it also makes the pickpockets job harder because samll wallets are harder to pick out of a purse. The other thing is to photocopy everything in a purse or wallet so if its stolen you have everything that needs to be cancelled at hand and nothing gets overlooked.

[NV Whino]

22. When you have recovered from this mishap

and gotten new credit cards and ID, take all of them to a color copier and copy them (or scan them yourself) front and back. Keep in a safe place. You then have all the numbers and emergency phone numbers in one place... plus knowing exactly what was in the purse/wallet.