Stolen
As I was sitting at a coffee shop in Farragut North, I got a call from Bank of America that some irregular transactions had occurred. Since I never use my debit card except at the ATM, I knew something was up. Despite my always being careful and vigilant, it turns out my wallet had been stolen out of my purse. I thankfully had driven to where I was, still had my car keys, my blackberry, and laptop. I was able to quickly search all the phones numbers I needed to call and was able to get home without having to pay for metro or a cab. I was lucky.
At the time of the call I was working on another blog post, and since my blog is about whether or not we are too connected my mind started racing. I was lucky, my wallet had been stolen, but not my passwords!! I was able to quickly cancel everything in my wallet, make a police report (gotta love when they come to your apartment), and contact all credit reporting companies. If my laptop had been hacked into and monitored, I would have been screwed. Now, if the person who stole my wallet happens to find a business card and starts reading this post – my building is secure.
Sometimes it is good to be so connected. I was able to quickly contact everyone I needed to including my family, who was able to facilitate my making calls by finding numbers for me while I drove home (yes, without a license, but what chose did I have!). All calls, alerts, etc. have been made. I am off to the DMV in the morning and am looking forward to getting a better license photo. My advice, keep paper copies of everything in your wallet at home. I lived in New Orleans for 5 years, went to countless Mardi Gras parades, and my wallet pick-pocketed in a nicer part of DC, who would have guessed.