One of my good friends in Everett, Washington kindly wrote up the following experience for me. I wouldn't have believed anyone could be so foolish but judge for yourself. Here are the sad details:
"On Sunday, July 4th, my wife and I visited a Safeway store in South Everett, WA around 10 a.m. to pick up last minute items for our BBQ. Upon arriving we noticed the shopping cart next to our car had a man's black designer wallet in the top basket.
"I opened the wallet to inspect the contents (and look for personally identifiable information) so it could be returned to the owner. Not only we were able to find the owner with the contents, but we were shocked to see how un-privacy-conscious this person is.
"The wallet contained:
- Family photos (wife, two young girls)
- Drivers License with local HOME ADDRESS
- Boating insurance card (with boat identification)
- Washington State Fishing License / Catch Record
- AAA Plus RV card with account # / current
- Four major bank credit cards
- Paypal banking card
- Bank receipts /w hand written math on the back
- Business cards for their local business
- Business cards for other people
- Various receipts from shopping
- Paperwork/estimates related to their business
- No cash!
"Having worked a lot with JJ Luna we knew that this was a big no-no and I jokingly told the wife later that we could have had this person buy our groceries since their cards had nice example signatures on the back. Filling up our tank would have been a no-brainer since we had their billing zip code.
"As tempting it was to snoop at the balances or really piece this persons life together, I tried calling 411 first to get the persons phone number by name (there goes a $1.50). Unfortunately a listing didn't come up,but they did offer a listing under a woman's name which I didn't call. Instead, I used the business cards which matched the name on the driver's license to call the person on his cell number. He didn't immediately answer but a call to the other number (wife?) listed on the business who answered - which the 411 listing had the same name for.
"They at this point didn't even know the wallet was missing. Being good samaritans we offered to drive the wallet down to their address which was nearby, but they said to just leave it with customer service at the store. We dropped the wallet off with customer service and the counter agent immediately recognized the person by their picture and said she would keep it for them.
"It made us think about what we could piece together about this person from their wallet contents. We knew where they lived, how many children they have, what major items they owned (nice 23 foot boat, RV), what accounts they had with balanced, and banks they banked at. Due to Paypal we knew they shopped online, or at least had a Paypal account.
"The email address of this account is likely the one used on the business card. We knew the husband and wife's name, phone numbers, dates of birth, and almost anything that an automated system would need these days to verify identity. I didn't think about it until now but WA state requires a social security number to get fishing license. Fortunately these numbers aren't printed on the license themselves but a crafty social engineer could probably get this information via pretexting with the state's DOL."
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Why didn't the owner of the wallet want my friend to bring it by? I suspect that he was an industrial-strength cheapskate who did not wish to be obligated to offer a small reward. And--since he carried no cash, he was not in a position to say to my friend, "I insist you take out $50 for your trouble, before you leave the wallet with customer service."
Here's what I normally carry in my own wallet:
- Between $300 and $500 cash. Period.
Explanation: If I know beforehand that I will visit a certain place, I will carry a library card, a senior discount card for a buffet, or a Costco card. My driver's license remains hidden in my SUV, along with $100 of hidden cash (in case I forget my wallet sometime).
If I travel, I then carry (in an inside pocket of my sport coat) my passport, DL, an ATM card and a credit card. Plus a lot of cash.
Go thou and do likewise. :-)
You idea of leaving the DL in the glovebox is a common sense solution to keeping it safe, and never losing it. I wish law enforcement would suggest this too.
ReplyDeleteYes, but it's also a photo ID with DOB and a signature, so having your vehicle broken into or stolen could lead to it being found. Thoughts, JJ, on this element of risk?
ReplyDeleteThis assumes the address on it is not one's true home address. I tend not to want to leave such items at a location that is usually unattended, such as a vehicle.
AAA card is a big nono. I work in a bar and found a wallet while goin through it I found AAA card would have let it sit but their was a TWIC and Z card . The hassle for losing those is huge along the line of loss of employment. I used AAA to contact the owner.I was amazed that they called him and I spoke to him directly.If your a bad guy its not that hard to lure your target to a spot . Buy his ebooks their a great deal Thanx JJ
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