10 Worst Things to Carry in Your Wallet

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.

Things you shouldn’t keep in your wallet

Here are the 10 things you should remove from your wallet and store in a safe place, depending on how often you need to access them:

• Social Security card. 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.
• Multiple credit cards and credit card receipts. Choose one 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.
• Checkbook, or even one blank check. The days when you might need one for a purchase are mostly in the past.
• Work ID card.
• Passport or passport card.
• List of your passwords.
• Gift card not fully redeemed.
• Birth certificate.
• Library card. It sounds benign, but a crook can always check out lots of books and sell them for a buck or two apiece, Clay warns. 
• House key. Thieves could find your address from the contents of a stolen wallet.

Advice for Medicare beneficiaries

To help protect your identity, your Medicare card no longer carries your Social Security number. But your Medicare number — unique to you — should be closely guarded and never shared with anyone who contacts you out of the blue by phone, email, text or in person.

Only carry your Medicare card when you are headed to an appointment that might require it. In the wrong hands, your Medicare number may be used for a variety of scams, including filing for false claims and reimbursement. If someone calls and asks for your information or money or threatens to cancel your benefits, report it immediately to 800-633-4227 (800-MEDICARE).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says you’ll need the information on your Medicare card to join a Medicare health or drug plan or buy Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap), so keep your Medicare card in a safe place.

If you have original Medicare 

Carry your Medicare card with you when you’re away from home. Show your Medicare card to your doctor, hospital or other health care provider when you get services. If you have a Medicare drug plan or supplemental coverage, carry that plan card with you, too.

If you join a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health plan

You’ll use your plan’s card to get services, not your Medicare card. Therefore, keep your Medicare card in a safe place in case you switch plans or go back to original Medicare.