Your Wallet Is Lost Or Stolen

Scenario: True story -- a wallet missing for 27 years was recently discovered in the hollow of a dead cherry tree in New York's Central Park. The only thing missing -- $20. We should all be so lucky.

Solution: After you report your missing wallet to the police, your bank and your credit-card companies, ask one of the three credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian or TransUnion -- to place a fraud alert on your account (the bureau you contact will notify the other two).

The alert lasts 90 days and gets you a free credit report from each agency so you can monitor any criminal use of your credit cards. With a police report, you can extend the alert up to seven years and get two free reports from each bureau annually. At the same time, be sure your bank and
credit-card companies issue you new cards and new account numbers.