We all know the sense of panic when we think our wallet is missing, but what about when it actually gets stolen?

That happened to News13’s Maggie Lorenz over the weekend; the thieves used her debit and credit cards to wrack up hundreds of dollars in fraudulent purchases. 

After going through the stressful aftermath of dealing with a stolen wallet, she’s using what she learned to help you at home. 

The least that can happen is you lose a little cash, but the worst is you could be the victim of identity theft and fraud that could have harmful effects for years. 

So, what do you do if the worst does happen? Horry County Police helped News13 come up with a checklist to keep your valuables safer and make reporting a lost wallet a lot easier. 

Step one: Call your bank and cancel your cards, and when you do make sure you specify they were lost or stolen. 

The numbers for the four major card companies are:

  • MASTERCARD: 1-800-627-8372 (US) or 1-636-722-7111
  • DISCOVER: 1-800-347-2683
  • VISA: 1-800-VISA-911 (1-800-8472-911) 
  • AMEX: 1-800-528-4800

“Even if you think you’ve misplaced your stuff, there are a lot of the credit bureaus now that if you have the app on your phone they have a service where you can temporarily suspend the card,” Capt. John Harrelson with Horry County Police explained. 

Step two: Put a fraud alert or credit freeze on your accounts. The three major credit bureaus– Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union all need to know about your loss immediately. An alert or freeze make it almost impossible for a thief to run up huge bills using your identity. 

Step three: After you’ve contacted the bank and credit bureaus then contact law enforcement.

“You’re gonna need that documentation when you’re dealing with the bank or credit card companies in the coming days to finalize the cancellation of those accounts or to get new cards,” Capt. Harrelson said. “But it also lets us begin the investigative process to try to get surveillance video from the stores or businesses that are involved.”

Those three steps are the most important, but also be sure to report any missing drivers license, social security card or other forms of ID.  

There are steps to you can take right now to better protect yourself. Get rid of anything in your wallet you really don’t need, like multiple credit cards and important personal identification.

Also, scan or photocopy everything that’s in your wallet or keep photos of important paperwork on your phone. Harrelson said with passcodes it’s much more difficult for a thief to access your phone as opposed to an open wallet.