It turns out that when I got home from Silicon on Sunday and unloaded the car, I was so tired I didn’t lock the doors. Today I found out my wallet is gone. I think it fell out of my pack and was in the car. Someone found my Wells Fargo card, B of A sent me an email about odd charges on my debit card, I can’t remember if there was anything hitting my USAA credit card and my Chase card is probably ok since I lost it a couple of weeks ago in my place. I can get a temporary atm card tomorrow probably.
For the most part it is no big deal. At first I was thinking it was kids and I was fine with letting them have the bart tickets and cash just to get the extra “worthless” stuff back. Every place where there were charges was within walking distance from home towards University and 6th street. My fastrak and the nice zippered folder with the car registration and proof of insurance was also taken. I think that was it. Very much a quick hit and grab what looks interesting. My CD case was left behind probably because of the burned CDs they thought it was worth nothing.
I have contacted the banks and credit cards. My next move is insurance to get new proof and fastrak just in case. Sadly, my collection of Driver’s Licenses are now gone as is my library card and misc rewards cards. Also sadly there was probably about $150 in bart tickets and cash in the wallet. Oh well.
Mostly I am fine with it. I really do want my misc junk back that is worthless to the thief. I feel I should be able to find the trash can where it was tossed and I would be much happier. Mentally I am fine. Physically, I find I am still shaking. It was about 2:30pm when I got the first clue and it is now about 6:30pm. I just got home from running around, picking up my one card, stopping by the gas stations where there were charges and the bank to get some folding cash and hopefully a temporary atm card. I don’t feel good and I don’t know what to do to sooth myself. My resources are low and I know that is due to my woeful lack of regular food, exercise and sleep. Fixing that is a longer term goal but does nothing for this moment.
I have a lot of organizing and straightening up to do. As it is before each con, my place becomes more dedicated to the gods of chaos and my life gets strung out. With this added joy of losing my wallet and needing to fix all of that, the job of getting things back in order feels too large. I just want to crumple. But even that doesn’t sound good. I can’t think of what I would want to make me feel better and reenergized and I don’t have anything to drag me through where I am that I can just zone out on and tune back in when things are better. Bah.
I am open to suggestions on what else to watch for or take care of in regards to losing the content of my wallet. I figure I need to keep an eye out for identity theft since my drivers license is out of my control.
Good luck. If you have autopayments setup for anything, make sure you make those changes once you get the new card.
It’s happened to me before, and, frankly, if I have a nightmare, it’s more likely to be about something like this happening than about any kind of monster or supernatural creature.
*hugs* It can be a hassle getting things fixed, esp. when you’re already tired.
If your cards have all been cancelled, then all I would do is make sure to watch for any other charges that come your way. Get a police report about the stolen wallet/cards. Some places will require that proof.
Also, because your license was taken, put a lock on your credit report so that no new lines of credit are opened in your name without them contacting you first. You’ll have to contact the 3 major credit report companies, but luckily, it’s a free service. And the lock is good for one year.
That really sucks.
You may want to put a fraud alert or credit freeze with the big three credit company.
The difference between fraud alerts and credit freeze:
http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/2008/q0306.htm
The California FAQ on Credit Freezes:
http://www.oispp.ca.gov/consumer_privacy/consumer/documents/pdf/cis10securityfreeze.pdf
Hugs.
Hugs.
I lost my wallet 20 years ago, when the world was less tech-savvy. It was a real blow. I thought a bit of me was gone. I was a bit adrift for a couple of weeks. I also went back to the spot where I lost it (never put your wallet on the car roof and drive away without retrieving it) several times, in case it magically reappeared.
I have 3 drivers licenses in my current wallet. Just can’t seem to let them go, even with the horrible pictures of me.
I had all 7 of my driver’s licenses in my wallet and all of them had great pictures. Each looked radically different than any other and it was great fun to pull them out and show them off.
That is the saddest part of losing my wallet. I figure I need to approach it like I am planning to deal with losing a lot of my cool stuff in an earthquake. It is time to just let it go. It is just stuff. Sad but time to move on. *snif*