wallet lost, then returned by a stranger with all cards... do I still need to worry?

[JC76]

Hi all. The collective wisdom of this group always amazes me, so I wanted to get some advice on something that happened to me yesterday so I don't get blindsided down the road.

So yesterday morning I went down to our local u-haul storage facility to rent a storage unit, pick up some boxes, etc. As I was heading back out to the parking lot and loading my car, I somehow managed to drop my wallet. I don't carry my social security card (of course!) but other than that, my wallet pretty much had EVERYTHING in it... driver's license, all credit/debit cards (both personal and work), insurance cards, my attorney license, etc. I also had a substantial amount of cash in it. I never carry cash, but a client had paid me in cash the day before and I hadn't gone to the bank yet so was carrying it around with me. I will NEVER make this mistake ever again.

I realize about an hour after getting home from the place as I'm about to leave the house again that I can't find my wallet. Search the house, search the car, it's not there, I'm sure I've dropped it and I immediately call the storage place. They can't find it and I become pretty much despondent. I even drive back there myself to look around the parking lot for it, can't find it. I decided to wait until the end of the day to start making all the phone calls canceling everything in the hopes that it somehow pops up in my house or car in a place I've failed to look. But I have this gut feeling it's gone.

Several hours later someone rings my apartment, I buzz them in thinking it's a delivery, hear a knock at my door and open it to find a man standing there holding my wallet out to me. Turns out he found it laying on the sidewalk outside the U-haul place about an hour before. He had driven all the way across the city to hand deliver it to me and seemed really, really nice. Of course I immediately opened the wallet and saw my cash was gone, but all of my cards were there. I thanked him profusely and he left, didn't even get his name.

My question to the group - my credit cards were out of my possession, along with my driver's license, for several hours. Who knows who looked through them. Do you think I'm safe enough just keeping a close watch on my billing statements and credit report to see if someone's using the information from them... or do I really need to go through the process of calling the credit cards companies and banks to let them know this happened and have them reissue all new cards to me? We're talking at least 6 credit cards and 4 debit cards, between personal and my business accounts. What do you think??

[GreyhoundsRUs]

I personally would cancel them all. You don't need to keep the cards for online shopping - he had all the important info (billing address and cc#'s)

[MrsK]

I would call the credit card companies so they can put an alert on your account. Most companies have a fraud department that will call you if there is suspicious activity on your account.

[diggitydot]

It's a complete PITA, but cancel them ALL and have new ones issued. Also, put a fraud alert on your credit reports and lock those puppies down.

[scrub-jay]

I'm suspicious that the cash was missing. If it were me, I'd never consider taking the cash out. That seems really dishonorable in an otherwise honorable situation (returning). Could've written everything down and hopes you'll carry on. I'd replace them, they have been compromised. Good luck.

[JC76]

My gut tells me that this guy didn't steal the cash and then bother to return the wallet. He truly went to a lot of trouble to return it and I don't think someone who stole that much cash from it would have bothered to go to the trouble to personally drive it across town and hand it to me afterwards. I suspect that someone else saw the wallet, quickly pulled the cash out of it, and then tossed it back on the ground. Then this guys found it. However, that doesn't mean that the guy who returned it (or someone else) took the time to write down the info from the cards and then return them to the wallet, before it was returned to me. I don't know, I guess i KNOW that it makes sense to have all the cards replaced. It's just such a PITA, I don't want to do it!!!

[MarissaNicole]

Same thing happened to me years ago. A considerable amount of cash was taken but someone turned in the wallet (I can't remember where) and the store called me. I would imagine someone took the cash out and threw it back on the ground. When it happened to me, I think I only had two or three credit cards at the time (gosh now I have so many its embarrassing), but I think what I did was sign up for lifelock.

I guess I am not sure what I would do now, but I just wanted to share that, when it happened to me, they literally just took my cash, and I never had any issues with my credit cards.

[Deebs]

If you have the cards in your possession, it shouldn't be that much of a PITA to get them cancelled and reissued. We've always had new cards overnighted to us and would basically not know they were gone. I'd definitely cancel.

[Cinderella]

Better safe than sorry. We've been compromised before and our wallet was never lost or stolen. Criminals are more sophisticated now days. They just need the numbers and they can sell them online to a database where people can purchase those numbers and have replicated cards sent to them. They start with a small charge on your account first to see if it will pass and you won't suspect it. Then they go on a spending spree. With most credit cards the good news is you can dispute the charges you never made and never have to pay the bill. However, it is a hassle to go through the paperwork.

[Meenah]

Contact the three credit bureaus, in case someone tries to open new lines of credit with your information.