Entry bubble The Hassles of a Stolen Wallet

By: Nicole | April 25, 2008 | Category: Money

Purse Theft

A scary thing happened to me Tuesday night. I was shooting pool with some friends when a stranger tried to snatch my purse. I couldn’t believe it. My purse was a mere five feet away. The guy quietly swiped it, hid it beneath his sweatshirt, and sauntered toward the door. I was lucky. I noticed almost immediately, and the guy was apprehended.

For a few terrible moments, I thought he had gotten away. I began to imagine the hassle of replacing my credit cards, my driver’s license, and my ATM card (not to mention the songs on my iPod). What a mess. So, today, I’ve decided to post a few things you should do, just in case:

  • Keep a list of all of your credit, debit, and ATM cards. This list should include card numbers as well as customer service phone numbers. You might also want to include the fraud hotlines of credit reporting agencies, so you can place a fraud alert on your credit report. You should keep this list somewhere safe and easy to access (but not in your wallet!).
  • Because your Social Security number is a gold mine for identity thieves, never keep your Social Security card in your wallet. If your driver’s license has your Social Security number on it, you should contact your state motor vehicles office and ask for a replacement that doesn’t display your Social Security number.
  • Never keep PIN numbers in your wallet or with your credit or debit cards.

If your wallet has been stolen, the FTC provides a quick list of what to do. And of course, there are lots of other things you can do to avoid identity theft.

Do you have any tips for how to make life difficult for purse snatchers?

| Comments [5] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: card  credit  purse  replace  robbery  security  social  theft 

 

Entry bubble Government in the Web 2.0 Age

By: Sommer | April 11, 2008 | Category: General

 the word connect spelled out with computer keyboard keys

Since you’re reading this blog you know that government is somewhat active in the social media arena. Here at GSA's Office of Citizen Services, we’re really having fun with this new and exciting way to communicate with the American public. We have very supportive leadership that encourages us to be innovative and creative and to reach out to you in a way that’s most convenient for you rather than making you come to us and conform to the bureaucracy.

However, some government agencies don’t have the same flexibility we do. A lot of agencies are afraid of losing control of their information and content and many don't understand if and how using social media tools can advance their agency missions.

So, America, I pose a question to you… What do you think of government agencies using social media tools like blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, YouTube, Flickr, widgets, and microblogs to reach out and give you information? Is it good? Bad? Are there ways you’d like the government to provide information that we haven’t thought of or addressed yet? After all, we’re public servants and we’re here to serve, so let us know what you want and need.

| Comments [19] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: blogging  conversation  government  media  rssfeeds  social  sommer  web2.0