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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIn an episode of Seinfeld, \ufeffJerry\u2019s neurotic friend George Costanza has so much stuff jam-packed in\ufeffto his wallet that it\u2019s ridiculed as a \u201cfiling cabinet.\u201d Walking down the street, Costanza the pack rat tries to stuff one more thing inside, and the billfold explodes, scattering its contents to the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jon Clay, vice president of threat intelligence for Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity firm, mentions the episode when talking about what consumers should not carry in their wallets lest they lose valuable information. The lessons of the old sitcom remain timely in an era in which identity theft is epidemic: \ufeffMore than a million reports of identity theft<\/a> were made to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2023, making it the number \ufeff1 type of fraud. Within that category, the top type of identity theft was credit cards, with more than 41\ufeff6,000 reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thieves could take more than the cash in your wallet; they could profit from your stolen information, Clay says. A man in suburban Chicago left his wallet at a grocery store\u2019s self-checkout. Even though the victim canceled his bank cards, the thief took his driver\u2019s license and used it to withdraw $15,000 from his bank account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff\u201cWe all think we are being careful, but it takes one second for a criminal to steal our wallet or purse,\u201d says AARP\u2019s Amy Nofziger, who oversees its Fraud Watch Network Helpline <\/a>at 877-908-3360.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to keep your wallet safe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your wallet can be leaner \u2014 and to cybercrooks, meaner.\u00a0Many of the informational items we once carried can be accessed on our smartphones, including\u00a0digital wallets<\/a>\u00a0that contain digital versions of your credit cards, prepaid cards and debit cards. Apple, Samsung, and Google offer mobile payment services. For your analog wallet, take these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Clean and sort. Take everything out of your wallet and sort it all, with an eye to paring it way back. Remove old receipts, shopping lists, business cards, single-store credit cards that rarely get used, coffee shop punch cards that you\u2019ll likely never fill up, and so on. If it\u2019s not something you\u2019ll need often or in an emergency, keep it at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Store some item\ufeffs. Create a safe and secure storage system at home for the occasional wallet items you\u2019ve removed. You can put extra cash there, too. Grab cards or items when needed, and when done with your errand, return the cards to their secure spot.\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Make copies. Consumer advocates advise making photocopies (or taking smartphone photos) of the front and back of all your cards, so you know whom to contact if they go missing.\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things you shouldn\u2019t keep in your wallet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeffHere are the 10\ufeff things you should remove from your wallet and store in a safe place<\/a>, depending on how often you need to access them:\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff1\ufeff.\ufeff \ufeff Social Security card<\/a>.\ufeff You do not need it for daily use, and criminals could use it to open lines of credit in your name or sell it to another criminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff2\ufeff.\ufeff \ufeff Multiple credit cards and credit card receipts.\ufeff Choose one<\/a> credit card and one debit card you wish to use the most, and leave the others at home. Multiple credit cards are a gold mine for criminals. They can easily charge items online or send runners to different stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff\ufeff3\ufeff.\ufeff \ufeff Checkbook<\/a>, or even one blank check. The days when you might need one for a purchase are mostly in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff\ufeff4\ufeff.\ufeff Work ID card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff\ufeff5\ufeff.\ufeff Passport <\/a>or passport card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff6\ufeff.\ufeff List of your passwords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff7\ufeff.\ufeff Gift card<\/a> not fully redeemed.\ufeff<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ufeff8\ufeff.\ufeff Birth certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n