Lost & Found: I Found a Wallet!
Posted by Frugal on June 21st, 2006
What would you do if you find a wallet left by someone? Yesterday, when my family went to Carl’s Junior to have a quick dinner, I found a wallet on the chair. I went thru the the slightly worn-out wallet, and couldn’t find a phone number that I could call. There was a driver license with a Latino photo, an ATM card, a credit card, a health insurance card. Only 4 cards. My wallet probably have over 10 or more different cards, including some business cards. In any case, I couldn’t find a phone number, but there is an address. My wife suggested me to simply take a couple of dollars from his some 30 dollars in the wallet, and mail the wallet back. But what if he no longer lives there.
I still don’t have enough time to think over exactly what I should do about the wallet yet. After yesterday’s dinner, it was as usual, practically no time for anything, but putting kids thru bath & sleep. I actually forgot about the wallet and left it in my car.
Do you have any good suggestions, without giving out my phone number or address? Maybe I will call his bank or credit card as a third party to notify him without giving away my personal information.
What’s the most interesting thing when I went thru his wallet for phone number is that I found a slip of escrow receipt. It said that he was the borrower, and the check amount was about $160,000, but the check said Borrower Refund. What does that exactly mean? Almost sounds like a mortgage fraud in my suspicion.
Anyway, it’s not my business. The ways that I usually follow as not to lose my own wallet are:
- Wear a pant with a deeper pocket, so that when sitting down, it won’t slip out.
- When I leave a place, I will pat my pockets until I feel my wallet. I usually do this in front of my car when I try to get my car key out.
And if I do lose my wallet (which happened before), I will
- Immediately retrace my ways back, and see whether I can still find it.
- If it has been more than 12 hours, I will put a temporary freeze on all of my credit cards & ATM cards that were lost.
- If my driver license or any photo ID is lost, I will file a ID theft alert on my credit report for safety.
Luckily, the last time I lost my wallet, a good person found it and my wallet was intact. And I lost my wallet probably two other times right in my car. It simply slipped out of my pant pocket and ended up on the car mat.
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June 21st, 2006 at 9:11 am
Could you find the guy’s phone number?
If not, you can mail the wallet to the person, using restricted delivery and return reciept. That way, only the person listed on the package can sign for it, and if the guy doesn’t live there, the wallet will just go back to the sender. If you don’t want to use your addy, use the address of the bank listed on one of his cards. They’ll know how to reach him, even if the DL info is wrong (he probably gets monthly statements.)
I probably wouldn’t take any money out, even for mailing it — that 30.00 might really mean a lot to that guy. If you do, maybe leave a reciept?
June 21st, 2006 at 9:42 am
Drop it off at a local police department and let them call the credit card companies to find out whose it is.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:49 am
If I found a wallet and the only info was the person’s address, I’d deliver it to that address in person. I wouldn’t take any money from the wallet. I’ve done it in the past. I’d do it again. That’s what I’d want somebody to do if they found *my* wallet.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:10 am
Thanks for all of your comment. I think here is what I will do:
1. Call the bank first, and see if they’re willing to help out as being the third party middleman for contacts.
2. Yes, JD, it’s actually physically close to my residence, about 5 minutes. I think that will be the second thing that I try. The only problem is that I may be there, but he may not be there, even if he lives there. In which case, I will leave my work phone number at the door.
3. Yes, Blaine. I think contacting police is also a good idea.
4. Annab, you’re a such considerate person. All of your friends and family are lucky to have you. Yeah, if I ever do that, I will definitely leave a receipt. Mailing a wallet in any case will be more trouble than physically delivering it myself.
Now the only problem left is that I forgot about this wallet and left it in my car for the second time again!! I guess I will call after lunch. Yeah, it doesn’t belog to me, so I keep forgetting to bring it home or bring it to work.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:30 am
Alright, made a trip to retrieve this guy’s wallet from my car. Just called the bank, and the bank told me to contact police who will then contact the bank or credit card company.
I guess that will work. I will make a trip to this guy’s residence after work, and if he is not there, I will drop it off at a police station then.
This poor guy must be very nervous about losing his IDs. Unfortunately, that’s the best that I can do for him so far.
June 21st, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Blaine Moore (and the bank) had it right… call the police first. I wouldn’t visit the guy at all. You never know what you’d be stepping into. The bank said call the police first — why would you do anything other than that?
June 21st, 2006 at 2:42 pm
At noon, I just left a message on this guy’s door (if he still lives there). Told him to meet me at Carl’s Junior at 8pm (but I didn’t tell him which one, he should know) or he could email me.
I thought about this over. If I could, I will give him the wallet myself. I know if I go to police, for the reporting purpose, they will always jot down my name and my address. Now if this guy says that he has some $100 or more in his wallet, and now there is only some $30 left, won’t I become a “thief” with an address at the police? Now I can understand my wife’s position of simply mailing his wallet back. She told me that one of her friends actually got shouted at by returning a wallet with some $100, while the owner claimed that $10 is missing from the wallet. Well, I haven’t even counted exactly how much this guy has in his wallet. What if this guy told police that he is missing some $100 or even $1000 in cash? Who is going to prove my innocence except my wife? We’re talking about cash here which is pretty much non-traceable whether it exists or not in the first place.
Obviously I don’t want to get into any trouble. I will just give this guy his wallet, and go away. I don’t even want him to see my license plate.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:36 am
You went through a lot of trouble. An anonymous delivery to the police could have been the easiest and safest way to go. Assuming, of course, that the police act ethically themselves.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Why would you even take it home? I would have turned in to the restaurant, where the guy would be mostly likely to check first. I’ve left my wallet behind before, fortunately at places I was known, and that’s first place I’d call. No fuss, no muss. You’d be a good samaritan without worrying about the issues you mentioned.
July 1st, 2006 at 9:15 pm
The only reason for not turning in to the restaurant is that I know with 100% certainty that I won’t steal from his wallet, but I don’t know with such certainty that the workers/owners in the restaurant would do the same. No offense to them, but it’s not a risk that I want to take with his wallet.
July 5th, 2006 at 6:01 am
I would bring it to your local police office . there is no finders fee that someone is automaticly owed . You don’t no what his money means to him and what goes around comes around . i once spent a few of my vacation hours (we were in St-Martin Corrupt) looking for a guy to give his stuff back remember a sicere Thank you is Priceless. and I just lost my wallet hope to get it returned .