Stolen Purse

June 9, 2006 10:58 PM

Is there anything else that I can do about my gf's stolen purse?

My gf's purse was stolen from my 2003 Jetta tonight. We filed a police report and canceled credit cards and such. Is there anything else that we should be doing? Her SSN card was not in there. Thanks.

posted by geonags to law & government (5 comments total)

Have her contact Equifax and place a fraud alert on her name and SS number to protect her against any sort of identity theft. When I had something similar happen to me (I got mugged) I was told to contact the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. I started with Equifax and they automatically transferred my report to the other two.

Sorry this happened to your gf. It's a major hassle, for sure.
posted by makonan at 11:20 PM on June 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

Well - before I go in to some direct advice, keep in mind that worrying about it won't help, and it can be very stressful! The fact is, wallet/purse theft is quite common; identify theft is rare in comparison. Most junkies breaking into a car aren't after you for your identity, they want to get a quick buck out of the credit card or cash.

Now, as a simple measure to prevent anything from happening, submitting to the Big 3 is a good idea (even if they say they'll transfer it to the others, I've heard stories that this isn't the case - it's best to contact all three). They may or may not send you a bunch of mail to file or faxes to send, depending on the agency.

What cards did she have in her purse? There can often be things that we don't think about as being credit that in fact are. Call your local library, video store, and any other "borrowing"-type business that she had a card in for. Similarly, any in-house credit cards should be notified. Ditto insurance companies.

Was her license up to date? Or her other identification?
If not, it may help to get in touch with whatever address was there - I have heard from police officers and HR staff that it's quite common for stolen wallets/purses to end up in the trash, and then found by someone else, sans "valuables". Local convention might rule this, but a purse/wallet put in a mail box might eventually end up back in your possession (it's happened to me).

All in all - best of luck.
posted by Vantech at 12:58 AM on June 10, 2006

Cellphone :

You can block the IME (telephone serial number) from all the mobile phone carriers.

But you can also wait to see if they decide to use the phone.
posted by psyward at 2:37 AM on June 10, 2006

IMEI.
posted by grouse at 2:46 AM on June 10, 2006

thanks for the help. someone did find it down the block..sans credit cards and camera. she cancelled the cards last night but we are still going to do the equifax reporting thing. thanks for the help.
posted by geonags at 9:18 AM on June 10, 2006