A woman's handbag typically contains almost $600 worth of stuff, including cash, makeup, perhaps an ipod, a phone, sunglasses or glasses; not to mention the average three credit or debit cards. Then of course there is the stuff that doesnt necessarily have any quantifiable value such as diaries with birthdays and contact info for friends and family, to-do list, receipts and all the other bits and pieces picked up over time. Losing your handbag or even some of its contents is not only hugely stressful and inconvenient, it could mean the loss of items you can never replace and it could very well open you up to identity theft.
If your cards are taken it is easy enough to get them cancelled and you should always do that straight away. However, this isnt always enough; one in eight of the people that had crads stolen still ended up having money taken from their accounts as a result of identity theft. Most people carry mutiple forms of identity and all the thief needs is one of these to perhaps apply for a loan or a credit card in your name. If your bag contains any bank correspondence, copies of pin numbers or statements with your address on then the thief has everything they need to take your identity and completely ruin your credit rating.
The only way to protect yourself from the hassle of handbag theft and the possibilty of identity theft is to follow some simple rules. Never leave your bag unattended, even for a second. Try to rememeber not to carry any bank documents or receipts, clean out your bag at the end of the day and don't let those scraps of seemingly innocent paper accumulate in your bag, aside from reducing the risk of identity theft you'll have a less cluttered hadbag. If you cannot remember pin numbers try this trick - think of someone you do remember but who isnt in your phone, perhaps a childhood pet, then create a phone book entry for them and disguise the pin number as a phone number but make sure it looks like a phone number don't just put in the 4 digit pin.
Finally, there is a company called pacsafe who have available a range of bags the have built-in anti-theft features. These include slashproof panels to stop theives cutting the bag with a razor to remove the contents, slashproof and snatchproof straps that can be locked around a secure fixture whilst you are for example sitting having a coffee somewhere and concealed tamperproff zippers that make it almost impossible for someone to unzip the bag and reach inside.
By: Sean Clarke