Purse/Wallet Stolen? Here is what you should do
Purse/Wallet stolen – First make sure to check whether you’ve just misplaced your wallet or it has in fact been stolen. We do recommend trying to find it in places you’ve recently visited. However, in case your wallet is stolen, you need you act fast to prevent further losses. In this article we help you with the steps to be taken in case your wallet has been stolen.
Risks faced when losing your wallet
If you don’t find your wallet/purse, don’t panic. In order to minimise your losses, you have to do a good number of things first. Your wallet is usually filled with debit cards, credit cards, IDs, photos and money. Losing you wallet means you’ve lost money as well as these cards and ids. However, there are much greater risks that you face. Like the risk of losing further money from your bank accounts, unauthorised spending from your credit card and identity theft among others.
We’ve made a checklist which informs you about the steps to be taken to minimise your losses.
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Inform your bank
You have to inform the bank about the loss of your debit card. This is called as hotlisting your card. Once your card is hotlisted, the bank blocks it and no further transactions can be done through it. The risk of someone else withdrawing money from your account is dealt with. So is the risk of your debit card being used online for internet transactions.
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Call your credit card issuers
On similar lines, the next thing to do is to call your credit card issuers. Hotlist your card (i.e report loss of card). The company will block your card and no further transactions can be done through it.
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Deal with EMIs
EMIs which were paid through these credit cards will also have to be dealt with. If nothing is done, you could go past your due dates and incur additional charges.
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Report the loss of card
In addition to reporting to the banks, report to the Police Station about your stolen wallet. This step shouldn’t be taken lightly because it’ll help you in many ways going ahead. Two things are required to be done here. The first to get a certificate for the wallet stolen. The certificate mentions all the details of the wallet and its contents.
You will need to list down everything that was in your wallet. There may be other items in your wallet that may seem insignificant but could come back to haunt you. These include membership cards, work ID cards and access badges, medical insurance cards, passwords, and keys.
The second thing is filing an FIR. FIR (First Information report) is to be filed with the police. Irrespective of the amount of money stolen, you should insist on filing a FIR; Even if the officers suggest you not to. -
Re-issue of your driver’s license
You’ve probably lost your drivers license as well as other ID proofs. You should get them reissued as early as possible. For getting your driver’s license reissued, you will have to visit the RTO. Remember, you’ll probably need someone to drive you there.
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Get new cards issued
You need to get new cards issued in order to get back to your routine life. You should do this early on if you rely on your debit card for cash withdrawals. Also, do this early if you regularly use your cards for payments. Otherwise you wont be able to make any payments.
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Change your locks if you had keys in the wallet stolen
In case you had keys to your home or any other important things, we recommend changing the locks. The thief probably has your address because of the IDs. Even if the wallet is returned in tact, someone could very easily have copied the key.
Make your life easier next time: Only carry the cards that you need, and never keep your Social Security card or your PIN numbers in your wallet. Keep your other cards in a safe place. Also, write down your credit card numbers and customer service telephone numbers on a piece of paper you’ll keep in a safe place. That way, if this happens again, you can quickly and easily report the missing cards to the card issuers.