There is not much of a difference in the steps you should take when realizing your wallet has been lost or stolen. To me, having something stolen feels more violating. Losing something could be a result of ones own actions. The intent is drastically different. My wife had her wallet stolen almost two months ago and we are still dealing with the fallout. She has followed most of the recommended advice of others regarding lost or stolen wallets. A simple google search for steps to take if wallet is stolen will provide you with steps to take in this situation. This has not stopped the individual from further becoming a pain in the ass. We have reported the theft to the local police. We have alerted our bank and credit card companies about the theft. We had cards canceled and new ones delivered. We had alerts placed on our checking and savings accounts to be aware of suspicious activity. I say all of this because it seems it may not have done much to prevent further loss. We realized within a day or so that the wallet was stolen and not just misplaced. The first incident was the stolen credit card being used at the local Walmart and for purchasing who knows what. The thief or thieves took a little break. It was roughly six weeks later that these people started going to the banks that matched the debit cards in the wallet. The thieves had my wife's new drivers license and went to the local branches. Even with the alerts on the accounts, the fact that the accounts were in my wife's maiden name, and not her recently changed legal name, the bank released funds to the thieves. NOT AT ONE BANK, BUT TWO! They wrote a fraudulent check from another couples account (I assume they were a previous theft victim) and cashed it at the local branch against what was in our account. UGH!
So to summarize, if you do find yourself with a lost or stolen wallet, contact your bank and credit card companies and let them know about the lost or stolen cards. File a police report, you may need this to provide the companies assisting you in the recovery of any assets that went missing. One of the most important things you can do in this day and age is check your annual credit report. Once you know if any additional accounts have been open or not, you will want to put a credit freeze on with the various credit reporting agencies. This way no one can open an account for new credit without you providing a pin number or some sort of verifying information. If you ever need a new credit line or loan, you can take the freeze off of your credit pretty easily. This is by no means a complete or exhausting list of steps one should take when dealing with the theft of a wallet. This is just a little bit of perspective from someone who is dealing with the fallout. Thanks for taking the time to read today post.