# Help! Lost wallet, and SSN **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007 "2004-06-06T22:29:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/1 "2004-06-06T22:29:05Z")
Help! My wife lost her wallet today. In addition to a large sum of cash, there are some insurance cards in the wallet that bear my social security number. In addition to cancelling the credit cards and notifiying the bank that our checkbook has gone missing, what do I need to do to help minimize any identity theft? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![whatami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/85f322/32.png) [@whatami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatami)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/2 "2004-06-06T23:42:29Z")
You can put a fraud alert on your credit profile by contacting the credit agencies. I don’t have the numbers off hand, but I’m sure you could find them quickly on Google. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/3 "2004-06-06T23:44:09Z")
Notify your bank. False ID could potentially get you in trouble there, too. Have you called the coppers? They have a lost & found, & you _might_ be lucky enough to have a _nice_ person find it. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/4 "2004-06-07T00:14:00Z")
I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. The probability that the person who finds the wallet knows anything about, or is interested in, identity theft is most likely very low. I’d worry more about the credit cards than my social security number. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/5 "2004-06-07T03:29:57Z")
I’d also suggest calling your insurance companies and using something other than your SSN for your ID number when you request replacement cards. Depending on the company they may express reluctance at the concept but there is no legal reason why they can’t give you a dummy number. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/6 "2004-06-07T03:36:42Z")
Yes, you _should_ worry about the SS#…why take a risk when you have the ability to control the potential damage? Minimally, you should let the police know…my police record was helpful when I was called by a collection agency for a $6000 credit charge with a small store that I didn’t charge. You’re more protected if you set a fraud alert on your credit with the three credit agencies. Check this out: > **[Identity Theft](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft)** > > Identity theft tops the list of complaints to the FTC by consumers nationwide. You probably don’t need to do all of the above, but doing what you can now beats having to sign affadavits, clean up your credit and such later on down the road. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-lost-wallet-and-ssn/249007/7 "2004-06-07T14:16:32Z")
call 800-680-7289 and TransUnion will add an alert to your file and will foward the info to Equifax and Experian for you.