Stolen wallets or purses are the leading source of information needed by thieves to steal your identity.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so always keep your wallet purse safe and close and closed and secured.  But if you find your wallet or purse missing, take the steps needed to get yourself back on track.  After calling financial institutions, you should file a police report in regards to your stolen wallet or purse.  You are the victim of a crime, after all, and you will need to have filed a police report as a step towards undoing any damage done by the perpetrator.  You will likely need to answer a series of questions, so be prepared to report information such as when you first noticed that your wallet went missing, where you think it might have been stolen, what else was in your wallet or purse, a description of the wallet or purse and if you have any idea who might have done it.  Once you have filed a police report, then call all three of the major credit reporting companies (Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) and request that a fraud alert be put on your account.  This alert will force the hand of any creditors by requiring that they take extra steps in verifying your identity before approving any further credit.  There are many ways that the creditors can do this, but the most commonplace is to simply call a phone number that you will provide when activating a fraud alert.  You’ll then need to order a credit report for yourself and be keenly aware of what is in it and be able to verify that information.  Know your own credit history and be able to identify anything in the report that might be fraudulent.

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