For the most part, this was a wonderful autumn weekend. I got to participate in an outdoor service project, take a walk through a protected wetland, do some shopping, run in a 10k race, and host a friend for dinner.

I also got to cancel four credit cards because of fraud.

Looking back, I can only assume that the cards fell out of my wallet while I was shopping on Saturday morning. Everything else, including cash, was still in my purse. And a thief is unlikely to take the time to unzip your wallet, pull out the cards, zip it back up, and put it back in your purse.  thief will just take the whole wallet.

I discovered the loss because I got an email alert on my phone from one of my card companies. When I opened my wallet to get the customer service number for the company, I realized that the cards were gone. (about 5 hours after the likely time of loss). I managed to cancel that card immediately and to cancel another card that I use so often that I have its number memorized. I went home and pulled old bills for the other two cards so that I could cancel them as well. The comapnies are investigatimg the thief. I'm not responsible for the fraudulent charges that did go through. And no one can use the old cards. I'll have replacements with new account numbers toward the end of the week. then I have to go and change al of my automatic payments and stored card info.

So, what can we learn from this experience:

• Do be alert to what you are doing with your cards. I didn't even realize mine were gone.
• Always check your card statements to be sure you recognize every charge. If you don't recognize a charge, call right away.
• Always keep one card separate from the rest. that way, if you lose your wallet or purse, you'll still have an active credit card you can use while awaiting replacements.
• Make sure you have customer sevice phone numbers and account numbers. You can't call and cancel an account if you don't know where the account is. Not knowing the number makes everything take much longer. I had all that information in my files, so it was a matter of minutes to access it.
• Some people put "See Photo ID" on their credit cards. That can help, but there are two drawbacks. First, not all clerks bother to look. Second, the rise of self-swipe machines means the clerk never sees your cards.

I'll survive. It will be a bit tedious cleaning all of this up, but you can learn from my misfortune.