My son and I were at a public swimming pool this afternoon, I had put our valuables in a locker and put my padlock on it. When we came back to change in the locker room, the lock was gone and so was my wallet and cell phone. The thief left my keys so I could drive us home.
We’ve already reported it to the authorities and also canceled relevant cards and such. We already know where the thief tried to use the credit cards.
Mostly a nuisance since my insurance should cover the loss - the biggest annoyance will be replacing my drivers license and my phone. I know we’re luckier than most.
Some padlocks can be opened with a well placed whack. It was a quicker way to open our lockers at school.
It’s distressing that even a public pool locker isn’t safe. The most that a thief typically gets is a few dollars and credit cards. The victim has the nuisance of reporting the lost cc and getting replacements.
This won’t help @iiandyiiii but you should always keep a photo of your driver’s license on your phone so you can withdraw money from your bank if needed.
In junior high, I got $20 for a birthday present. I put my wallet in my locker for P.E., and my locker had been broken into and my money (the double-sawbuck and four singles) was gone.
Was the lock one of those Master Lock combination locks with the dial on the face? They are very easy to open by pulling down on them slightly while spinning the dial.
Locker room thefts are tough because they can’t put cameras in there. Were there any cameras outside the entrance? Might get lucky and get a glimpse of the thief with your stuff in their hands. And others. Many times they do several lockers at the same time. Do you have a time span when it happened?
When I’ve taken these reports and we get a suspect more than half the time it is a couple of employees.
I’ve been the victim of theft a few times - a stolen bike, an apartment break-in, a filched cell phone at a concert, a runner on Waikiki Beach who scooped up my money belt that I stupidly took off and put on the sand side me - and can therefore authoritatively confirm what most sources will say, which is that aside from the loss of physical property and resultant inconvenience, what hurts most is that some asshole did this to YOU, dammit.
It’s hard not to take it personally. Your frontal cortex is saying, “yeah of course - whoever did it doesn’t know me, wasn’t trying to hurt me as a person, it was just random.”
Meanwhile, lizard brain brain is saying, “but…but why does somebody hate MEEEEeeeeee? I didn’t do anything to them! My feelings are really hurt that they lashed out at me this way.”
Go with the frontal cortex. Ignore the lizard brain.
I wouldn’t say “very easy”, but with practice, you can figure it out. The methods on the internet don’t work with all Master combo locks. Depends on when they were made. I have a different way of doing it, but it only seems to work on locks made in the early-to-mid 90s. At any rate, don’t trust Master locks in general.
I’m not sure that all banks would accept that as valid ID, but it’s certainly something to remember. Except that the OP said his phone was stolen, also.
I know locally that gas stations won’t accept a picture of an ID to buy alcohol or tobacco, because they can’t scan it to verify it. I would imagine that banks may have a similar policy. I know when I stopped in mine to get a new debit card, they wouldn’t do it because my license had expired.
iiandyiiii, I’m sorry this happened.Did it upset your little boy? (I can’t believe he’s old enohg to go swimming! I remember when he was an expectation.) Also, CairoCarol really nailed it.
She said her heart got stolen, but I’m pretty sure she was talking about the Meezers. They’re cat burglars.
When my wallet got lost I asked my bank how could I get to my cash until the credit cards got replaced. He asked me if I have a picture of my photo ID.
I happen to have one because I needed to send my insurance company a photo of my ID.
Had it not been for that I would have been screwed.
I accidentally used an expired ID once and the clerk wouldn’t sell me alcohol because of it, since apparently an expired ID also means that my age suddenly reverts to underage instead of the listed age on it.
So I went back into my car and got my newly issued ID I had forgotten to put in my wallet and the clerk again refused to accept it, this time claiming “It might be fake” since apparently having an expired ID also means you might also have a fake ID apparently.
I also have a picture of my drivers license for insurance, so that will be helpful.
Somehow, I don’t feel angry. Just sad and annoyed at the hassle of replacing stuff. The pool lobby does have a security camera, plus I know what stores the thief tried to use my card at (and when, and how much they tried to spend), and those stores have cameras as well, so I expect that if the cops actually try to solve it it won’t be that difficult. But I know it still will be unlikely to get my stuff back.
I know, right? That’s the worse part when the dollar amount is small and there was no threat of violence. That the hassle of time and effort spent mitigating the damage is arguably worse than the loss of property itself. It’s not merely a redistribution of wealth, but a significant net loss for society.