Last week, while I was on business in New York City, my wallet was stolen. It was under 30 seconds of poor "situational awareness" on my part while paying for parking at an indoor garage, and it was gone.

I know exactly who did it, I know how they did it, and when the police arrived, they told me there was nothing I could do about it and it's not even worth filing a report. That's all I'm going to say about HOW the wallet was stolen. It can happen to you.

So, there I am, one block off of Times Square, with no money, no cards, no identification and a 2.5 hour drive home. Now what?

Well, I still had my iPhone, so I first called American Express. Why? Because I wanted to cancel the card, of course, but also because of what I knew the full name of American Express actually is, and that is American Express Travel Related Services.

Cancelling the card was simple enough, but now I needed some cash, partly because I wanted to fill up the gas in my car and partly if the car broke down and I needed to get a tow or something. After a bunch of questions about my history with Amex and some questions based on stuff you can find on my credit report, they gave me the information I needed to walk over to a Western Union office and get some money. That was good. They also arranged to overnight a replacement card to me - for free. That was also good.

While on the phone with American Express arranging cancellations and all that, I texted my wife and told her what happened. These was a bit of distrust on the part of my wife answering texts from what she could not be sure was actually me or just someone who managed to get my phone and passcode. A quick phone call to discuss that it was, in fact me, texting her and she was able to proceed with killing other cards. In the fire safe, I have a folder with Marty's Important Documents. In there is a photocopy of all the cards (front and back) that I keep in my wallet, my most recent expired driver's license and passport and other Really Useful Information. She was able to kill off all the other cards. She was also able to send me a picture of my current driver's license from the copy. While the photo of the license is not legal identity, I expected (and later confirmed with a cop I know well) that if I presented the picture of the license and they ran the number and it was legitimate, I would not have any "problems".

I got home with no issues, and the next day, went to the Driver's License Center with my old expired license and was out the door in 8 minutes with a shiny NEW license. Stopped by the bank and got a new ATM card, and when I got home, my Amex card had already been delivered.

I'll point out that other credit card companies did NOT offer to overnight a replacement card for free, and simply cancelled the card and said a "replacement will be there in 3 to 10 business days". Thus far, no other cards have been replaced yet. My credit is "locked" at all three providers, which is a pain in the buttocks, but I'm glad it's set up that way for just such an emergency.

So, what worked, what didn't?

What Worked:
American Express. Without a doubt worth the annual fee.
Keeping Expired Cards. Made the new driver's license process trivial.
Copies of cards in the wallet. Not as vital as expected, but still very handy to get an inventory of who needs to be called.
Western Union. They delivered the cash sent by Amex no issues at all.
No Access Codes in the Wallet. There was nothing in my wallet that could be used to access any of my online account or PIN numbers or anything like that. As an aside, I use unique, maximally complex per-service passwords and 2-factor authentication where available.

What Didn't Work

Filling A Wallet. Carrying a "single point of failure" - a wallet - is a Bad Idea. It's a habit I fell into, I used to be much better at keeping my documentation, currency and such decentralized, but New York is "local travel" for me, so I didn't follow the same level of document/currency management safety I do when on an "out of town" trip. That was foolish and won't happen again.

Not having a second valid ID. Technically, you don't need to show ID to fly or move about the United States. In reality, you need to show ID to fly and move about the United States. I can't get into 99% of the buildings where I meet clients without a photo ID. If this had happened in any other city, it would have been a much bigger hassle.

According to the TSA, acceptable IDs for screening purposes include:

- U.S. passport
- U.S. passport card
- DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
- U.S. military ID (active duty or retired military and their dependents, and DoD civilians)
- Permanent resident card
- Border crossing card
- DHS-designated enhanced driver's license
-Driver's licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent) for the sole purpose of identification
- Native American tribal photo ID
- HSPD-12 PIV card
- Airline or airport-issued ID (if issued under a TSA-approved security plan)
- Foreign government-issued passport
- Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential identification.

I don't like the idea of carrying my passport book around with me all the time, but the Passport Card looks like a good solution for domestic travel, and you can have both the card and the book, so I'll be getting the Passport Card which will serve, basically, as my "national identity card" (a document that is commonplace outside the USA).

In the end, it was an unpleasant disruption to my life, but not a catastrophic loss. Nothing in the wallet was irreplaceable and prior planning ensured that the process of getting back in order was as streamlined as possible.

Good Information, but one thing I found disturbing was you being told that it is not worth filing a (police) report. First, it sounds like the police officer was being lazy, but putting the best face on it, maybe he just meant that there was zero chance of the guy getting caught and of getting your stuff back. In that regard, he was probably correct.

But making a police report can be vitally important for other reasons. Suppose (like some people do) you had a blank check in your wallet, and with all the other id etc., the bad guy was able to cash the check and get clean out your checking account. You go to the bank and tell them it was fraud, etc, etc. They ask you: Did you file a police report? Respond yes, and they replace your money and take the loss. Respond no, and they say, sorry, there is nothing we can do for you. (This is the actual policy of several banks where I live.)

Likewise, if you had to make a claim with your insurance company, they may also ask if you filed a police report, with similar results as the Bank scenario above.

I don't think these policies are unique to my local area. I would have thought the police officer would know that you might need to make a formal report for the above reasons, and at least mentioned it to you.

My advice is to always file a police report and get whatever documentation of it that you can. You really want to be able to answer "yes, and here is a copy." It is the job of the police to take the report, even if they don't think anything will happen and that the bad guy will never be caught.

But I'm glad that all worked out well.

The police were clearly willing to do a report if I pushed it, but they were very clear that I'll never see the wallet again. The cop in question was my brother, who's been a cop for over 10 years. I trust his judgement on this.

As far as some of your other points.

I left out a few things that are NOT in my wallet.

I don't carry checks normally. Here's why.
http://www.idtheftcenter.org/Fact-Sheets/fs-126.html

But there's more reasons.

First of all, hardly anyone around here accepts them anymore and I find them to be the least secure payment instrument possible, worse than cash.

The very few times I personally need a check (less than 5 times a year), the payee and usually the amount is filled out before it is carried to the Place That is Stuck in the Dark Ages and Does Not Understand Payment Cards At All (the department of motor vehicles most typically). In no case would I ever carry a blank check around normally.

Not really clear on "claim with insurance company." For what? A $25 wallet? The cash I claim was in it? OK, I could say I had $1,000 in cash in there,I could say $10,000. No sane insurance company will insure cash, police report or not.

All of my cards were killed within 15 minutes, there were no transaction attempts on any of them (I asked). It is FAR simpler to stop a payment card than to deal with a rogue checking account.

Just a general caution, clearly not relevant in your case, but you would be amazed (or maybe not) at what some people carry or wear (jewelry, expensive watches etc.) I've had my car broken into twice, once in NYC in a commercial parking lot and DW was pepper sprayed and robbed on the street in Hollywood. We never carry anything in public that we aren't ready to lose.

Your brother was the cop--wow, I hope no offense was taken; you and he have my apologies in any case.

Can you provide more details about how exactly your wallet was stolen?

By the way, there has got to be a special place in hell for a person who steals a wallet or cell phone. Personally, getting my cell phone stolen is more disruptive.

It sounds like you handled as well as possible. I've since learned to split up my wallet when I go into locales with pickpocket problems. A money clip with cash and a single credit card, and a card holder with my driver's license, insurance cards, ATM card, and ICE information. The card holder gets put in a hidden pocket or inside my jacket. The money clip shares my front pocket with my keys.

Oh, if it was anything expensive and tangible, I'd file a claim for sure and have a police report.

Sent a PM.

I would still have filed a report just to have more documentation for when they do catch the guy doing something else. If it was a parking garage in NYC, there are cameras. There may have been some identifying footage.

I carry 2 wallets. One that is larger and looks like a normal wallet that has no credit cards or IDs. It has photos, membership cards, discount cards. A small wallet carries my IDs and credit cards and is kept in another pocket. My cash is in a front pocket separate from both wallets.

I do like the way you document all of your cards and IDs. I will do that right now!

another reason to carry additional cash separately... in your bag, kit or 'other.'