A cautionary tale that a friend just posted on fb - learn from his mistake:
I try to keep a bare minimum in my wallet to begin with - and now I am going to make copies of everything - both hard copies and electronic - as well.
Eek. Good cautionary tail.
I always carry my wallet with me. Always. Of course, it could be taken out of my pocket so it’s still a very good idea.
My CC companies said that as long as I know my SSN, I can call their emergency # (which i put on my phone contacts) and let them know there was a theft and they will cancel, even if I don’t have the card and don’t know my number. They said that if I’m out of country, to call collect.
I keep meaning to xerox everything in my purse and wallet, but have been lazy. Maybe I’ll get to it sooner than later. I have had my wallet robbed from me once while I slept and it was at the head of my bed, when I was in college and sleeping in a room with a bunch of other people at a Y. It shocked me that none of us woke and scared me that I could have been injured if I woke when the person was taking my wallet. Very unnerving to be robbed while sleeping.!
This one hits close to home…
About two years ago , my husband was a victim of a professional band of pick pockets in the airport in Copenhagen. He was one of about 20 or so that just arrived after the transatlantic flight. People were tired and vulnerable.
He was in the process of getting his rental car, turned his back for a minute and that was all it took.
Besides every piece of ID he had ( Internation DL, passport, green card ) they also got away with all of his credit cards , his laptop , and iPad and his car keys.
What was supposed to be a quick trip to visit his elderly mother for her birthday turned into a nightmare.
It was incredibly difficult dealing with any government agency with regard to getting any form of ID to rerun home . If you think it is as simple as contacting your embassy , think again…they were as close to worthless as can be. DHS , who handles what used to INS , were even worse.
The people who DID help were :
His credit card company ( above and beyond and I cannot sing their praises enough )
ATT&T cell phone carrier
The assistant manager of one of our banks…she happens to be a Bosnian immigrant that knows the ins and outs when it comes to some international transactions and had a copy of his green card form when we opened business accounts at that bank.
So….as the OP said , make copies of all of your documents and the contents of your wallet…without those, my husband could have been delayed indefinitely to get back home
@rockvillemom It sounds like you did not have a good experience with LifeLock. Was their customer service bad?
I am trying to decide between upgrading ProtectMyID, which I currently get free through AAA, or using LifeLock. We are one of the Anthem/Blue Cross members who had their personal data stolen. It is worse than the Target/Home Depot breaches, as it was not just credit cards but social security numbers and medical info.
Anthem provided free identity theft protection. We signed up for it. Last week I applied for a new credit card. ProtectMyID sent me a text message that xxxx Bank had accessed my credit report. This reassured me that ProtectMyID was monitoring any activities on my accounts. What did not reassure me is that I never heard anything from the Anthem/Blue Cross monitoring service.
I have heard that Amex has a great customer service when it comes to such situations, but the credit card company that helped my husband was USBank corp.
Wow! lje62, that’s a hair-raising story. My D is set to go to Japan in 2 weeks for a three week stay. I can’t imagine what she would do if she found herself in a situation such as your husband’s. I will definitely read your post to her when I talk with her over the phone tonight. Rockvillemom, thank you! for starting this thread. I will be going to Kinkos this weekend to do other work, but while there, I’ll be copying all my wallet’s contents.
Poetsheart, first of all, your D will be Ok. 
As far as no help from the embassy, I believe that US Embassies are much more receptive to requests from US citizens; Green card holders basically get no help. She should definitely make a copy of her passport and email it to herself or save on a secure cloud.
I may go overboard on security, but not only do I gphave copies of credit cards and passport, but I also scanned our passports and emailed them to our children. If the passport is stolen, it makes sense to have a copy with me. But if something happens to us while we’re tracing abroad, it makes sense to me that our kids have quick access to our passports also.
We also use one of those under-the-clothes pockets. We travel with one credit card that’s a different account in that pocket so that if our suitcases or my purse is stolen, we always have one credit card on us.
poetsheart-is your D going with a school group? Mine went to Ghana last summer and the trip included a long stopover in Amsterdam airport and the group leaders made sure that all the documents were safe with them. Plus there had been copies made both for group leaders and parents. I’m sure yours will be fine.
The guy in the OP did everything wrong-left ALL of his important papers, ALL of his credit cards, passport, etc. ALL of his electronics in a bag in full view in a high end car. I can see the things on my car’s floor easily. Burglars know that a car parked at the gym is going to be there awhile. I’m no high-living person, but every gym or community center I’ve ever been to has signs saying not to leave valuables in your car. Hope he gets it all worked out.
I agree that it is useful to have an under the clothing pouch with travel essentials–passport, one (or more) credit cards, and some cash. I wear that when I travel out of the country, especially when I know I will be tired and/or distracted. H does as well. It makes for much more restful travels and you don’t constantly have to keep an eye and arm on your “stuff.” Wearing things UNDER clothing is much more secure than the pouches around the neck or at your waist, especially in crowded surroundings with little personal space. It is amazing how quickly some light-fingered thieves can grab and run.
The only incidents we have ever had was when I was sleeping and when our kids LEFT possessions unattended, as well as once someone stole my coinpurse with about 20 pounds on the London Tube, out of my pocket in a crowded car. I had no idea until I got back to our hotel and couldn’t find it and realized that it was taken!
Buying under the clothing pouches are very inexpensive insurance, as long as they are worn ALL THE TIME. You can put the documents in a ziplock and then put them in the pouch so they don’t get grimy. Pouches are available online or at CVS, luggage stores, Macy’s, and many other places. They can be worn as a belt under your clothes, attached to your belt and stuck in your slacks or skirt, or attached to your bra.
yomama12 - this did not happen to me - a friend’s nightmare.
When my son went abroad last year - he had hard copies of his passport and medical insurance card with him and copies in his email as well.
sseamom - I know - besides the incredible hassle - he feels incredibly stupid for doing this. Which is what prompted him to share!
Brilliant!
[quote]
poetsheart-is your D going with a school group? Mine went to Ghana last summer and the trip included a long stopover in Amsterdam airport and the group leaders made sure that all the documents were safe with them. Plus there had been copies made both for group leaders and parents. I’m sure yours will be fine.[/quote
sseamom, my D graduated college in 08’, so no she won’t be going with a school group. She has been practicing Kendo for several years, and will be traveling to Japan, in part, to attend the World Kendo Championships (not as a participant, but an observer), which will be held in Tokyo this year. While there, she will tour Tokyo, Hokkaido, and several other places, which is why she’s staying for three weeks. I talked to her tonight, and read her lje62’s cautionary account of her husband’s Copenhagen nightmare. She’ll be touring with a friend, so won’t be alone. Nevertheless, being as prepared as possible for travel emergencies, especially when one is so very far from home, is something no one regrets.
D just picked up a considerable amount of Yen, which she’d ordered through her bank, so that will be her primary source of funds for the trip. I know Japan is known to be quite safe compared to much of the rest of the world, but it would be a sizable hassle for her if she were pickpocketed. According to her, Japan is much more cash based than here in the U.S., having many places that do not accept credit cards. She will indeed be bringing a credit card as back up, but I will definitely exhort her to get some sort of under-clothing pouch for most of her money, documents, and other valuables. Of course, that won’t do her much good during her planned visit to onsen… :))
Not sure how all of that last part ended up in a quote box. Sorry about that…
We copied and scanned all passports before our trip last summer.
I copy my credit/debit cards, driver’s license and then stick a copy in our home safe. I need to update and this is a good reminder.
Actually BunsenBurner…the embassy wasn’t helpful to any of the people , most of whom were American citizens. Their hours were unbelievably limited and the lack of communication between various government agencies was astonishing. There was one helpful person that worked for the State Dept in DC that gave correct information…one person actually told me that my husband should go from Copenhagen to London ( pretty hard when you can’t board a plane without a passport )
When he finally got his travel foil together , he was told that the airline could use their judgement to decide whether or not to let him board the plane…and once he landed in Newark, not one of the Customs and Immigration officers knew what to do with his documents.
But Poetsheart , I wouldn’t worry about your daughter based on my husband’s experience. The law enforcement in DK knew in general who the criminals were and why they were there at that particular time. I think it is wise to have copies of all ID and credit cards in safe keeping , regardless of where you are traveling…and flashing back two years, some people recommended a brand of protective clothing called Scott Vest…worth a look
If you copy private info including tax returns don’t do it at Staples, Kinkos, the library. Everything that is copied goies on the machine drive. It is all saved.
b-( well then, good thing I wasn’t able to make it to Kinkos this weekend. I guess I’ll revert to plan B: use the copy function on the inkjet in the den.
A good quality photo will do as a copy.
Lje, it probably depends on the embassy: a GC holder friend was basically told to go away while blue passport holders found some help at that particular one.
I also second what gouf said and will add a suggestion to avoid copy machines at work. They are usually leased, and the hard drive info is not always wiped out before they are replaced with a newer version or taken away.