Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday.  A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company. Maybe it could help you sometime.  If you want to send it to others......Right click on "Fraud protection" the link below... then click on "copy shortcut", then click on "Email my friends" and pass it along to your friends.  Fraud protection.     Email my friends

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED." There is no law requiring you to sign it. It is far better protection than a signature which can be forged, or passed through checkout with just a quick glance by an inattentive clerk.   

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone on your checks if you have one, instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of either address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# or Drivers license# printed on your checks.  You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it. Better yet, use the term "Photo ID Required" on one of the lines.   

4. Run the contents of your wallet through a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, ID cards, etc. That way you will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. If you also have a passport keep a photocopy of that; and carry it with you in a secure place when traveling abroad. In case of theft, that copy will save considerable time and worry should you need to replace it.   

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them, but NOT in your wallet!

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
Below is what is perhaps most important of all: 

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchase.  Since I did this, no additional damage had been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away. (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Here are the numbers you always need to contact first about your wallet that has been stolen: After these, the credit card companies themselves. 

 
1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

So, Call and do in this order: 

Credit bureaus, and SS fraud line

Your Debit Card (ATM) Bank, 

Credit card companies 

Report to police.  

The above puts protection in place, and stops new credit lines being opened, , stops any new card charges, and gets the authorities working on it.  Do these steps quickly and immediately.  Preferably on the same day following the loss .  The faster you can get it done, the sooner your losses will be severely limited, and the perpetrators could very well be pinned down within 24 hours thanks to your speedy response.