Suppose your wallet containing all your personal and
financial identity cards is lost or stolen.
It happens more frequently than you think, and when it does, panic takes
over. Your whole life is in that purse
of wallet. It's bad enough if you're in
your hometown, but it is pure hell if you're away from home where all of your
account information is located.
Here is something you can and should do as soon as possible
after reading this column; that is, if you haven't already done what I'm going
to suggest. It might save you a ton of
money and maybe even your identity. If
you have a home office printer-scanner, you can do this at home; otherwise, go
to any office store where you can copy documents.
Take all of the credit/debit cards, ATM cards and any other
health or organizational cards out of your wallet or purse. Place them on the scanning bed of the
printer face down. You should be able
to fit eight cards per sheet of standard size printing paper with a little room
between each card. You want that space
to write info from the reverse side of each card. Print at least one copy, but two is even better.
Perform the same copying process until you have copied every
important card in your wallet. It might
take several sheets of paper if you have many cards.
After you've finished copying the cards, turn each one over
and find the toll-free number to call in case of loss or theft, or the customer
service number. Write this number below
the card image. Also write down the
security code, if there is one. On
credit/debit cards, it is usually a 3-digit number in its own box right behind
the signature box on the reverse.
Here's a tip that will keep that security code somewhat more
safe in case you ever lose the documented photocopy: Make the security number
an extension of the phone number with an 'X' between the phone number and the
code, as in 123-456-7890X335.
If you have more than one sheet of paper with the card
copies on them, staple them together. Then
seal them in a an envelope and give them to a trusted family member or friend
to hold for you in a safe, but accessible place. You could also keep it yourself and place it in an overnight bag
that you keep in your possession while on a trip, but keep in mind that if you
lose the photocopy you are open to computer fraud with those credit cards. The family/friend advice is much safer.
The loss or theft of your wallet and all those cards will
trigger a phone call to that trusted person from you as soon as possible. Have that person read the phone numbers to
you (they will also read the security code, but won't know what it is) and
record them so that you can call to report the loss to the company and place a
fraud alert on the cards.
Now that you know, take action immediately to protect
yourself in the event of loss or theft.
You might be glad you did if it ever happens to you.
