Losing your purse or wallet or having it stolen is a frightening experience, but dealing with the missing credit cards doesnt have to be. All it takes is a little work now to be able to make the right decisions should it ever happen to you.

What to do now

One of the best things to do to keep your credit cards safe is to scan or make copies of all of the cards that you have (front and back sides). This will allow you to have the numbers as well as the customer service numbers readily available if they are ever missing.

Also, you will want to gather the numbers of the major credit reporting agenciesExperian, Equifax, and Transunion. You will need to call these agencies to put fraud watches on your accounts and monitor any suspicious behavior.

You might also want to only carry one credit card with you at a time so that there is minimal damage should it become lost or stolen.

When you realize that your credit cards are missing

As soon as you find that your credit cards are gone, youll want to do several things. First of all, you will want to call the credit card companies to cancel your accounts. Let them know what happened and when you first noticed that the card was gone. This can help to track any further purchases that might have been made without your permission.

The card companies will also help issue you a new card so that you can still have a card to use, but one that will be in your possession. Be sure to note if you have any recurring bills that are paid by your credit cards and talk to those agencies to change the credit card number that is on file.

You will also want to file a police report to show documentation that the cards were indeed stolen and from where they were stolen.

Then you can contact the credit reporting agencies to alert them that your cards have been stolen, but the card companies know and will be halting your accounts.

All of these steps will help to ensure that you arent responsible for any charges that are made after you noticed their disappearance as well as make sure that you dont have any damage done to your credit report for any fraudulent acts from other information that might have been in your purse or wallet.