A Stolen (?) Wallet

I lost my wallet this afternoon shortly after making a purchase at a local store. As soon as I realized it was missing, I did a thorough search, then called Amex. The agent confirmed that someone had used it about ten minutes after I lost it, so we canceled the card. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to remember what cards were in my wallet and calling various banks to cancel any debit cards that might possibly been in there. Because I was rattled, it took me longer than it should to round up all the phone and account numbers.

Then, around 4:00 PM, a very nice-looking man came to my door and handed me my wallet. He assured me that everything was still there, and apologized for having to go through it to find the address on my driver's license. And sure enough, my cards were there, long with a $5 bill. I thought, Is this the person who charged $76 worth of gas to my card? And why did he come to my door rather than leave it with the Lost and Found in the store? He seemed so nice and responsible, he made good eye contact, and the cash was still in the wallet. I just couldn't reconcile the conflicting facts.

I'm very grateful to have my driver's license back. And now I just might follow that tip I'd seen long ago - make a copy of the credit and debit cards you carry with you, as well as the customer service numbers on the back. Oh, and just carry the MINIMUM number of cards with you.