# Wallet returned---without the cash **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170 "2018-05-14T23:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/21 "2018-05-15T05:24:39Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I heard from a associate that taking the cash but returning the wallet is the ‘reward’ for the efforts of returning the wallet and makes it possible to return it without physically connecting with the owner. Some wallets have more money then others, but it averages out to a reasonable reward. He seemed to indicate that this was normal and expected. I sort of taken this as cultural ( S. America don’t remember the country), and in some ways it makes sense. It certainly is better to get it returned san cash. > > The setting for this was when I found his wallet, on a road side, when I looked at the ID it was him and returned it in full (cash included). He upon receiving it took out the cash and handed it to me stating the above, which i said I didn’t want it and insisted he takes it back. so it was not to his benefit. All and all I respect his position as he is willing to life or die with the consequences. As a general rule, it seems better to get the wallet back and worth the reward charge. Well, to me, that depends. If your a billionaire, and have $10,000 in your wallet, that’s maybe not as much as a “reward” as taking $25 from a wallet from a guy who is on welfare and has mouths to feed. That’s why I asked, what price morality? In that culture supposedly (and I want to capitalize SUPPOSEDLY because that’s quite an inference to make about a culture) whatever is in the wallet is the reward; by that standard, then no one should carry any cash in their wallets, ever, which is also not realistic. > [@Driver8](#): > > I wouldn’t have assumed that the person who took the money from the “discarded” wallet and the person who found the wallet (perhaps with cash already stolen) and returned it were the same. Especially since the returner is conscientious enough to bag it so that nothing further is lost. Very possible scenario but more info: I lost the wallet approx. 5pm Friday; I got the phone call from the library 1059am the next day. Not a lot of time for the wallet to change hands twice and then have the supposed Good Samaritan who found the cashless wallet to bag it up and rush it to the library. I suspect its one person who made the decision to take the cash, yet something in their soul told them to return the wallet, and for the benefit of the thread, isn’t that the more intriguing psychological profile?:D:D > [@begbert2](#): > > By the way - get all those card numbers changed/replaced. Yes, it’s a huge hassle, but they _were_ in the hands of somebody who was perfectly happy to steal hundreds of dollars from you… I will today. Since the wallet was returned so quickly, and there has been no activity on my credit card statements which I have been watching like a hawk, I doubt they were used. I also needed one of my CCs for a BIG client lunch yesterday, so not having a credit card available to use was all but out of the question. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m personally curious which of those things you might not have done when you were 23 and on unemployment: return everything, intact, or not expect anything in return? That’s an interesting question that maybe gets to the heart of the issue. I’m definitely a different person today at 50 than I was at 23----I have a job, a house, savings-----so while not Bill Gates I would have no need to keep the cash in the wallet. 23? I could barely make rent and was living paycheck to paycheck. I’d love to THINK I’d return everything back then, but was not put in that situation. Either way, the right thing to do is return the wallet with all the cash. If I found a wallet as a younger man and stole the cash, I am fairly certain I would look back on that at 50 as a shameful decision. If I thought it was OK when I was 23, that doesn’t make it the right thing as it ages over time. This is part of the reason I’m intrigued by the “stole the cash, returned the wallet” dichotomy: it makes me think the person really needed the money, but they were brought up to do as little harm as possible, which lead them to return the wallet.–as a theory > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I lost or was relieved of my wallet once. I would have loved to get it back sans cash. I didn’t have as much money in it as you, but still. Getting everything replaced was a pain. I don’t carry a purse or wallet anymore. My lisc.and insurance cards are in my car glove compartment. CCs are only brought out if I am gonna use a particular one. Going in shopping it’s either cash or debit card in my hand or pocket. Yeah, Im starting to explore “walletless” options after this incident. I just fear not having the card I need because I left it in the other car, and other complex scenarios. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I don’t think a real thief would walk up to a person’s door and hand them the wallet. Maybe an incredibly dumb one might. I wouldn’t worry about it. Another interesting scenario. But imagine if you found the wallet with no cash, walked up to the victim and handed it to them, and they were maybe a little irrational ie the guy that lost the wallet is a Mafia Hitman that doesn’t care how he lost his cash, he just wants it back. Now YOU have the problem, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/22 "2018-05-15T07:59:39Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Very possible scenario but more info: I lost the wallet approx. 5pm Friday; I got the phone call from the library 1059am the next day. Not a lot of time for the wallet to change hands twice and then have the supposed Good Samaritan who found the cashless wallet to bag it up and rush it to the library. I suspect its one person who made the decision to take the cash, yet something in their soul told them to return the wallet, and for the benefit of the thread, isn’t that the more intriguing psychological profile?:D:D 18 hours isn’t long enough for two people to have successively found the same wallet, and the second of them to have sourced a plastic bag? :dubious: I mean, if you lost it in out in the woods, maybe. I think it’s overwhelmingly likely that the first finder picked it up, rifled it for cash and dropped it again straight away. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/23 "2018-05-15T11:59:05Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Only the once. Looked like around $400-500. Dropped in a café. > > I have a friend who was mugged by a couple of junkies while walking home from a bar. He said they demanded his wallet, pulled out all the cash, and handed the wallet with the rest of its contents back… Once I had my purse stolen off the back of my chair at a food court. I was pretty distraught about it. Then I got a phone call from a lost and found at an office building. Someone had turned in an envelope and one of my business cards. The envelope contained all my credit cards and ID as well as a plane ticket ( this was a long time ago) that had been in my purse. I always thought it was the person who stole the purse that packed all that stuff up and turned it in. So they got my nice leather purse. And the very small amount of cash I was carrying. One thing I distinctly remember was that I was going to hit the ATM after lunch that day and I had less than 10 bucks in my wallet at the time of the theft. That is why the return surprised me, I would’ve thought they’d be so pissed at not scoring any cash that they just would’ve dumped everything instead of bothering to see that it found its way back to me. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/24 "2018-05-15T12:05:29Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m personally curious which of those things you might not have done when you were 23 and on unemployment: return everything, intact, or not expect anything in return? It’s a reasonable question. At about that age I also was in desperate need of money–to fuel my pickup so I could continue to work for not enough money. As it turns out I did find a wallet with money in it, and I drove to the address on the owner’s driver’s license. I stuck it between the front door & storm door and left. It absolutely occurred to me to exact a “reward” or to just accept what the universe had given me, and judging by the owner’s house I certainly had the greater need. But I’d lost stuff/had stuff stolen before and I didn’t like it. I did curse the guy under my breath for my having to burn the gas to deliver it, though. As for the OP: it seems likely the finder knew it would suck to lose cash, but not nearly as much as it would to lose a driver’s license, cards, and whatever else is in there. You got the benefit of a compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/25 "2018-05-15T12:42:06Z")
Cash isn’t generally traceable, someone paying with stolen cash isn’t taking a significant risk of being caught. Someone using a stolen card might be caught on camera or identified by staff. There’s a lot more people in the world who’d regard cash as a windfall than would take the extra step of stealing cards, so I’m not surprised the cards weren’t touched but cash went. I would heavily suspect though that the person returning it was not the person who took the cash, it takes seconds to empty a wallet and dump it. Saying that, I have had someone steal my wallet and return it to the bag it was in (in a Malaysian backpacker’s ‘safe room’) cards intact. I’m pretty damn sure I know why though, in that case; it was the backpacker manager, and if he returned the cards, I could pay for my stay. Plus if I did try get police involved (which I didn’t, I was only going to be there for a day), he could have lots of cash no problem, but not the card. If you’re wondering why I’m so certain it was him, only staff were supposed to have access, he reacted with the worst fake surprise I’ve ever seen and I later heard of 2 other people who’d had exactly the same thing happen, who both also said they were certain it was the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/26 "2018-05-15T14:20:58Z")
No one yet has mentioned the possibility that library staff pocketed the cash? I think your anger is understandable, but misplaced. You don’t say how you lost the wallet, but it seems as tho the fault was solely yours. You could consider yourself lucky that it was not a total loss. Instead of losing cards/IDs/etc, all you are out is the cash. And you are the person who chose to carry a few hundred in cash. Again, a perfectly acceptable choice, but one that carries risks. You did something you regret, and suffered some loss/inconvenience. Rather than spending time criticizing whomever took your money, I’d suggest your time would be better spent examining how you might be able to change YOUR behavior to reduce the likelihood of similar losses in the future. I generally feel a good percentage (not all - tho it can seem like that at times) of people are jerks, and will readily take advantage of opportunities to anonymously advantage themselves to someone else’s disadvantage. You inadvertently put yourself in a situation where you risked running into such a person. Rather than being surprised/upset when someone dicks me over, I instead try acknowledge the seemingly fewer situations when strangers act pleasantly - or at least innocuously. How about this thought exercise? You are eating at a restaurant, and need to use the washroom when it is time to pay the bill. You hand the necessary cash to a stranger at the next table, and ask them if they would pay the waitress while you use the washroom. When you come out of the washroom, what are your feelings should you find that the neighbor has left with your cash without paying your tab? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/27 "2018-05-15T16:42:44Z")
If I lose my wallet and a thief finds it, I’d rather they take the cash and put the wallet in the library dropbox than take the cash and throw the wallet in a dumpster. In one scenario I lose my money. In the other one I lose my money _and_ I have to wait in line at the DMV, get a new health insurance card, etc. etc. I also agree that it’s somewhat unlikely the thief and the library-dropper are the same person, but certainly possible. > [@digs](#): > > You’ve found wallets, plural? With “several hundred dollars in cash”? Sounds suspicious to me… There was a thread a while ago about net finders vs net losers, and some people just tend to find stuff. I’m one of them. I don’t know if I just spend more time looking at the ground than most people, but I’ve found multiple phones, two wallets (no idea how much money was in them. Probably not huge amounts), and well over $100 in loose cash (total, several findings) just on the ground. Three times, I’ve been riding bikes with others and suddenly stopped to pick up valuables (two phones, and a $20 bill). None of the people I’ve ridden with have ever stopped during a ride. Finding lost things is not evenly distributed. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/28 "2018-05-15T18:26:57Z")
Decades ago, I remember reading about a lost-and-found notice that read something like “Lost: One wallet, containing $80, photos of family, and driver’s license. Finder can keep the wallet, the photos and the license, but I have a sentimental attachment to the money.” ---
**Author:** ![Lurking\_Quahog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lurking_quahog/32/21274_2.png) [@Lurking\_Quahog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lurking_Quahog)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/29 "2018-05-15T19:26:36Z")
I once found a wallet at work that belonged to a coworker who I didn’t know that well, but knew who he was. I sought him out and gave him his wallet. He opened it and saw that there was no cash inside and gave me such an accusatory look that I wish I had just tossed it in the trash instead of returning it to him . Happened 30 years ago, but I still remember that look. What a douche. But still not bad enough to keep me from doing the right thing in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/30 "2018-05-15T19:38:36Z")
This experiment seems pertinent to the thread: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jnL7sJYblGY/maxresdefault.jpg "200 dropped wallets- the 20 MOST and LEAST HONEST cities") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnL7sJYblGY) Most people are decent folk. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/31 "2018-05-15T20:05:30Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > If I lose my wallet and a thief finds it, I’d rather they take the cash and put the wallet in the library dropbox than take the cash and throw the wallet in a dumpster. > > In one scenario I lose my money. In the other one I lose my money _and_ I have to wait in line at the DMV, get a new health insurance card, etc. etc. > > I also agree that it’s somewhat unlikely the thief and the library-dropper are the same person, but certainly possible. > > There was a thread a while ago about net finders vs net losers, and some people just tend to find stuff. I’m one of them. I don’t know if I just spend more time looking at the ground than most people, but I’ve found multiple phones, two wallets (no idea how much money was in them. Probably not huge amounts), and well over $100 in loose cash (total, several findings) just on the ground. > > Three times, I’ve been riding bikes with others and suddenly stopped to pick up valuables (two phones, and a $20 bill). None of the people I’ve ridden with have ever stopped during a ride. > > Finding lost things is not evenly distributed. I’m a “finder” as well; I’ll vouch for your anecdotes. Heck, I once spotted a $100 bill on the floor at a crowded bar (Bullwinkle’s, in Tallahassee). My friends and I drank for free that night. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/32 "2018-05-15T20:27:25Z")
I worked in a small amusement park for about 10 years. Lost or dropped wallets, purses, cameras, etc, were a daily occurrence. Many were intercepted by park staff, with varying degrees of honesty. I was never “shocked” when a minimum wage seasonal employee may have raided the cash. If anything I was pleasantly surprised when they handed one in with cash intact. We had a couple performance incentive programs in the park. I always made sure they got credit in that system when they turned in stuff if only to reinforce the behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/33 "2018-05-15T21:09:13Z")
Figured I had to write given my name… 🙂 Found a wallet once in the city…no cash, but lots of credit cards and ID of a person who lived at a _very_ posh address. Called his phone number, and was told in a very dismissive voice to mail back the wallet, but insured so it would get there safely. Didn’t want/expect a reward, but the person was so nasty and talked down to me as if I were one of the ‘help’ that I seriously considered just throwing out the wallet. Eventually mailed it back, but cursed under my breath at the extra mailing expense. Went to the Trump Casino in AC for New Year’s Eve in the '80s. Someone stole the wallet from my purse, losing the money I had set aside for a fancy dinner there with friends. After checking with Security I scoured the whole casino, hoping the thief had thrown the wallet away after taking the money. While looking, I found another wallet on the floor. I took it to the security desk to turn it in, and was told to just keep it! “You lost yours, maybe there’s money inside this one you can take”. Grr!! I really intended to write to Trump about the crooked Security staff (who probably kept all the cash in found wallets), but never did. Probably wouldn’t have made a difference, since he probably got a cut as well! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/34 "2018-05-15T21:32:04Z")
My wife once had her wallet stolen right out of her purse in the Metro. Someone got between her and me and while she was trying to reach me, an accomplice opened her handbag and grabbed her purse. She realized it when we got out of the Metro and, within a half hour, had canceled her cards and started getting a new licence and health card. It turned out that within 15 minutes of the theft, someone had charged 2 fur coats for $3000 on the cards. We think there was collusion with the merchant or with a clerk. When a stranger walks in and buys two fur coats within 15 minutes? The credit card company covered the whole thing, not even charging us the $50 the agreement entitled them to since she had reported it so quickly. A few days later, she got a call from a police station far in the east end where we never go that her wallet was found in a trash can. Without a couple hundred in cash, to be sure. Once I saw what looked like a student drop his wallet while running to catch a train in the Metro. He was on the train and gone before I could even call out to him. I picked up his wallet (which had some money–no idea how much) and gave it to the guy in the fare booth, explaining what had happened. I can guess they gave the wallet back to the guy, but with or without the money I can only conjecture. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/35 "2018-05-16T05:26:46Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > No one yet has mentioned the possibility that library staff pocketed the cash? That does bring up another scenario—how do you trust the person you return the wallet to? Even if there’s cash in it, how does that person know you didn’t take cash out of it? Most people don’t remember how much cash they have in their wallet. All that said, I d LIKE to think a Librarian, despite their low salary would not do such a thing; but to be fair, its a possible caper. To take it to another level, lets say your that dichotomy person who stole the wallet and decided to return it with the cash in a bag at the library, because you didn’t want to return it to me directly to avoid any lost cash suspicion; right before you return it you think . . . what if the Librarian steals the cash? I may as well take it! > [@](#): > > I think your anger is understandable, but misplaced. You don’t say how you lost the wallet, but it seems as tho the fault was solely yours. Well, I don’t, since whoever found the wallet and decided to take the moolah could have made a higher-level decision. > [@](#): > > You did something you regret, and suffered some loss/inconvenience. Rather than spending time criticizing whomever took your money, I’d suggest your time would be better spent examining how you might be able to change YOUR behavior to reduce the likelihood of similar losses in the future. Its sounding like you think the simple and common act of carrying a wallet is unacceptable behavior. > [@](#): > > How about this thought exercise? You are eating at a restaurant, and need to use the washroom when it is time to pay the bill. You hand the necessary cash to a stranger at the next table, and ask them if they would pay the waitress while you use the washroom. When you come out of the washroom, what are your feelings should you find that the neighbor has left with your cash without paying your tab? Terrible argument. In your scenario, I am voluntarily handing a stranger cash. In my scenario, a momentary distraction of some sort caused me to drop my wallet somewhere in a parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/36 "2018-05-16T05:30:54Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > I wouldn’t have assumed that the person who took the money from the “discarded” wallet and the person who found the wallet (perhaps with cash already stolen) and returned it were the same. Especially since the returner is conscientious enough to bag it so that nothing further is lost. This was my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/37 "2018-05-16T05:31:27Z")
I forgot to add one element to the story, but Dinsdales post reminded me of it: I THINK I know when I lost my wallet. I pulled into the parking lot, and some asswipe had left a shopping cart with the handle down on the asphalt, standing 90 degrees up in the air, right at the conjunction of 4 parking spots. I bypassed the cart, parked, got out of my vehicle, and pushed the cart down until all wheels were on the pavement, then pushed it to the store entrance. Im 99% sure I lost my wallet while rescuing this cart, which I could have just left there! As the old saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished . . . .”😃 ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/38 "2018-05-16T17:31:40Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I forgot to add one element to the story, but Dinsdales post reminded me of it: > > I THINK I know when I lost my wallet. > > I pulled into the parking lot, and some asswipe had left a shopping cart with the handle down on the asphalt, standing 90 degrees up in the air, right at the conjunction of 4 parking spots. I bypassed the cart, parked, got out of my vehicle, and pushed the cart down until all wheels were on the pavement, then pushed it to the store entrance. Im 99% sure I lost my wallet while rescuing this cart, which I could have just left there! As the old saying goes, “No good deed goes unpunished . . . .”😃 I suppose insight is useful, but I have to ask… how do you stow your wallet so that it’s so vulnerable to escaping your custody when you’re slightly distracted by a physical task? Lesson learned, I hope: Secure That Shit. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/39 "2018-05-16T19:59:28Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > … > Its sounding like you think the simple and common act of carrying a wallet is unacceptable behavior. > … Of course not. But carrying and using it in a manner that one does not readily lose it IS largely within one’s control. If my wallet/clothing operated such that maneuvering a shopping cart would likely cause my wallet to fall out, I’d consider changing something about my wallet or how I carried it. But there is no reason you have to react similarly. > [@](#): > > Terrible argument. In your scenario, I am voluntarily handing a stranger cash. In my scenario, a momentary distraction of some sort caused me to drop my wallet somewhere in a parking lot. I was not suggesting that they were directly analogous. But in both situations, your loss depends in part on the action of a 3d party, and in part, on your actions and choices which resulted in the money ending up in their hands. I generally operate under the assumption that I do not wish to depend on the good intentions of strangers. I generally expect anyone I don’t know might screw me over if it was to their advantage - and I am occasionally pleasantly surprised. Instead, one might presume that strangers will generally act out of goodwill - and (occasionally?) be unpleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170/40 "2018-05-16T22:43:14Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > I’m conflicted about this. I’m mad about losing the cash, but glad the wallet was returned, and as far as I can tell, none of my credit cards were used. But what is the conflicted morality of this person? They stole my cash, yet took the time to make sure I got my wallet back. This is called “self-licensing,” and it is fairly common. The idea is you can limit the effect of morally bad actions with moral good ones. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Rather than spending time criticizing whomever took your money, I’d suggest your time would be better spent examining how you might be able to change YOUR behavior to reduce the likelihood of similar losses in the future. This is called “victim-blaming,” and it is also fairly common. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wallet-returned-without-the-cash/814170.md?page=3)