If you’ve ever lost your wallet, you know the disruption and inconvenience that it causes. However, you may not even realize how dangerous losing your wallet can be when it comes to protecting your personal privacy. There could be major consequences way worse than having to call and cancel a credit card, so be sure you take any of the following items out of your wallet today.
Take these 10 items out of your wallet
1. Extra credit and debit cards
It’s a good idea to only carry the credit and debit cards you use regularly. This way, if you lose your wallet, you’ll have fewer cards to cancel and replace. Plus, leaving the other ones at home makes it less likely for a criminal to gain access to multiple bank accounts and credit lines. Also, it’ll be easier to keep track of your spending if you’re only using a few cards. So go ahead and take out those extra cards and store them in a safe place at home. You’ll thank yourself later.
MORE: THIS CREDIT CARD CAN HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AND IT’S COMING TO A WALLET NEAR YOU
2. Social Security card
There are rare days you’ll ever need to have your physical social security card. Memorizing the numbers is enough, and leaving it in a fire-proof safe with other important documents is the best option when it comes to your SSN. There are a ton of social security scams out there, and carrying the physical card makes your number way more accessible for any criminals hoping to get their hands on your identity. You can check out my top recommendations for safeguarding against social security number fraud by clicking here.
3. Passport
If you have a passport or even a more conveniently sized passport ID card, you should definitely not carry that around as your main form of identity. Replacing a passport takes a lot more effort than replacing a lost driver’s license. It could also cause problems related to identity theft or disrupt your future travel plans.
4. Blank check
If you carry a checkbook or even a blank check “just in case” and you were to lose it, you’ve just given any thief full access to your account. Someone can write a check to themselves and cash it before you’re even aware it may be missing. It is important to keep track of your checks and monitor your account regularly to prevent any unauthorized transactions.
MORE: CHECK WASHING FRAUD IS THE LATEST SCAM AIMED AT YOU
5. Birth certificate
Just like your Social Security card, your birth certificate should be placed in a fire-proof safe and never be carried in your physical wallet. If it is stolen, thieves could do some major damage to your finances if they have it in conjunction with other personal information such as your name, address, and date of birth. This could lead to identity theft and other fraudulent activities.
6. Unredeemed gift cards
If you have gift cards that haven’t been fully redeemed and you aren’t planning on using them immediately, don’t carry them in your wallet. Leave them in an easily accessible location labeled with how much money is left instead of carrying them around. Gift cards are the same value as cash, and if your wallet gets stolen, you’ve just handed over free money to a criminal in addition to everything else in your wallet.
MORE: THE BEST WAY TO BUY GIFT CARDS EVER
7. Library card
While this may have less serious effects, a criminal could use a library card maliciously by borrowing a number of books and reselling them instead of returning them. This could result in a loss of resources for the library and its visitors.
MORE: FREE DIGITAL PERKS YOU MAY BE MISSING OUT ON BY NOT HAVING A LIBRARY CARD
8. Medicare card
Don’t carry a Medicare card in your wallet. While Medicare cards no longer display your social security card, losing a Medicare card could still have detrimental consequences, including someone fraudulently using your Medicare benefits if they were to get ahold of your card.
9. Passwords
If you write a list of passwords down, don’t keep the physical list in your wallet. If you do and your wallet is lost or stolen, you’ve given someone direct access to so many of your accounts, and it could result in the compromise of them. Instead, consider using a password manager,
One of the best password managers out there is 1Password. With no known security breaches or vulnerabilities, 1Password is a solid option as a paid password manager. It utilizes a well-designed interface, which features core components that are expected from premium, paid password managers. At the time of publishing, it starts at $2.99 a month, billed annually, for a total of $35.88/year, and you can save more with a family option which includes 5 family members for $60/year.
Get more details about my best expert-reviewed Password Managers of 2023 here
10. Membership cards
It’s a good idea to avoid carrying membership cards for gyms, clubs, or other organizations in your wallet. These cards often contain personal information such as your name, address, and phone number. If your wallet is lost or stolen, this information could be used for identity theft. It’s best to only carry the membership cards you use regularly and leave the others at home in a safe place.
MORE: HOW TO GET RID OF ROBOCALLS WITH APPS AND DATA REMOVAL SERVICES
Where to store items instead of your physical wallet
Digital Wallet
If you have a smartphone and you don’t already use one, consider a digital wallet. Apple and Android phones have a free wallet app available, and you can keep important things stored on them for easy access like the following:
- Credit/debit cards to tap-to-pay
- Vaccine cards
- Boarding passes
- ID cards and licenses (in some states)
- Loyalty cards
- Tickets to events
Apple Wallet
iPhone: 3.1 stars (at time of publishing)
The Apple Wallet app comes pre-installed on iPhones and Apple Watches and lets you store things like digital currency, credit/debit and loyalty cards, and other personal info in a virtual wallet. Adding cards or passes is easy. Be sure to check out the steps on how to add your credit cards, and loyalty passes to your iPhone by clicking here.
How to easily add your credit cards and loyalty passes to your iPhone
MORE: HOW TO ADD YOUR CREDIT CARDS AND LOYALTY PASSES TO YOUR IPHONE
Google Wallet
Google Wallet is a handy tool developed by Google that lets you store all sorts of things like payment cards for use via Google Pay, as well as passes such as loyalty cards, digital keys, digital identification cards, transit passes, event tickets, and health passes. Be sure to check out Google Wallet’s 6 amazing features for Android phones here.
Android: 4.3 stars (at time of publishing)
Protecting your wallet: digitally and physically
Digital scan
If there are important documents you often need to reference yet don’t want to keep a hard copy on you, scan it. I have a scan of my passport on my phone in a locked note in case I ever need to access it. Follow our steps for how to scan a document using your smartphone.
How to go paperless by turning your phone into a portable scanner
Backup your wallet
I can understand why you’d be hesitant to move your important documents digitally. If that’s the case, you should make sure you’re totally prepared in case your wallet ever goes missing or is stolen.
1) First, take inventory of everything in your wallet. Often you put things in it and forget what’s even in there, so if the time comes when you need to replace or report anything in it, you can’t actually remember what was in your wallet. Keep a hard-copy list of everything in it at home. If you really want to stay organized and be prepared, include contact information when possible for who you need to call for each card/item in the wallet in case it’s lost.
2) Next, make sure you’ve scanned every card and document you keep in your wallet (both front and back). That way, if you were to lose it, you have a digital copy of everything that you can access easily.
3) Consider an RFID-blocking wallet. Even a physical wallet can be digitally pickpocketed, meaning someone can use a device to scan your phone’s wallet and rob you without you even taking it out of your pocket. RFID-blocking wallets use a layer of aluminum or carbon fiber to make it more difficult for your card’s chip to be scanned without you knowing. Here are a few of my recommendations that get high ratings to help protect your credit cards from RFID readers.
- For men, this Slim Wallet has over 112,000 ratings with a 69% at time of publishing giving it 5 stars.
- For women, this RFID Leather Clutch Wallet has over 16,000 ratings at time of publishing, with 80% giving it 5 stars.
- For men and women, this zippered credit card wallet, has over 49,000 ratings at time of publishing, with 80% giving it 5 stars.
4) Protect yourself and get alerted if a criminal were to open up an account in your name by investing in identity theft protection services.
Identity theft protection companies monitor your personal information, such as your home title, Social Security Number (SSN), phone number, and email address for sale on the dark web or being used to open accounts. They can also assist in freezing your bank and credit card accounts. Some providers even offer identity theft insurance and a fraud resolution team to help with recovery.
One of the best parts of using my #1 pick, Identity Guard, includes identity theft insurance of up to 1 million dollars to cover losses and legal fees and a white glove fraud resolution team where a US-based case manager helps you recover any losses.
Special for CyberGuy Readers: Save up to 51% with my top recommendation is Identity Guard.
Read more of my review of best identity theft protection services here.
What if I still want to carry my physical cards with me?
If the thought of not carrying your physical cards with you makes you too nervous, Amazon sells plenty of convenient cardholders that can stick directly to the back of your phone so that you can still carry your cards and your phone all at once. Check out the shortlist we’ve compiled here.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Losing or getting your wallet stolen can lead to big hassles and major privacy concerns. So carrying certain items such as extra credit and debit cards, your social security card, passport, blank checks, birth certificate, unredeemed gift cards, passwords, library cards, Medicare, and membership cards is a no-no and can all pose risks. Instead, consider leaving these items at home in a safe place and opt for using a digital wallet or a digital scan of those items on your smartphone.
Have you ever lost your wallet and experienced identity theft or fraud as a result? Do you now keep any of your important items digitally on your smartphone? Let us know by commenting below.
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Related:
- How crooks are using skimmers and shimmers to steal your money at your ATM machine
- This is how to protect your credit and bank cards from getting hacked
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5 comments
I am getting my Ph.D in cybersecurity thanks to you and what I am learning.
This tip is for physical wallet security and helps anyone who may sit their wallet on a checkout counter and walk away.
Thread a 20 in. shoestring or similar cord through the hole in the crease of the wallet. Make a loop of the cord. That’s it.
Thread your belt through the loop and place your wallet in your FRONT pocket.
It’s 2023 every adult should have a recovery and restoration service (not credit monitoring).
Better advice is to PHOTOCOPY all the contents of your wallet – you will spend more hours trying to remember what cards are in your lost or stolen wallet – having copies safely stored is a better option
Limiting what you carry and using a digital wallet is good advice. How does one deal with the theft of your phone. Both one’s phone and wallet are what is being stolen in Houston.
Thanks, Tom. If your phone gets stolen, you can refer to this article on how to find your lost phone.