Last weekend, I had my bag stolen from a private event at a hotel in Austin. I lost all the normal things—laptop, wallet, dignity—but what was unique about the situation was that it was a pool party. Meaning I was in my bikini. And most of my clothes were in my bag—the bag that was by now likely on a highway some 20 miles south and being stripped for parts and possessions.
Last weekend, I had my bag stolen from a private event at a hotel in Austin. I lost all the normal things—laptop, wallet, dignity—but what was unique about the situation was that it was a pool party. Meaning I was in my bikini. And most of my clothes were in my bag—the bag that was by now likely on a highway some 20 miles south and being stripped for parts and possessions.
Having your property stolen sets off a sequence of emotions like the seven stages of grief:
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It’s never the money that really matters. For me, it was the five-leafed clover that sat in the back of my wallet in a laminated card, a present from my mom. Thanks to my landlord forcing me to get renter’s insurance—lest I burn the apartment to the ground, apparently—I’ll hopefully at least a small sum of money back. But as my detective told me in true Magnum, PI style, “The less-valuable things are usually the most valuable.”
When you’ve been robbed, the sense of helplessness can be overwhelming at first. I’m not expecting to get any of my stuff back; the only thing even vaguely likely to turn up will be my laptop, which the police are tracking in pawn stores using its serial number. But in order to feel sane and move on from the situation, the most helpful action you can take is trying to regain a sense of control. It won’t get your stuff back, but it will return your dignity.
Your trust in humanity may take some time to resolve, but here are some concrete actions you can take in the meantime to feel like karma will have its comeuppance.
If your social security card was stolen as part of the booty, there’s a chance you could become the victim of identity theft. There are a few ways this plays out: A thief could take out credit cards in your name, max them out, and then leave you with the angry phone calls from the creditors; they could sell your SSN to someone living illegally in the US who wants to obtain work; or it could be used to commit crimes under your alias. This happens more commonly than you think—the Federal Trade Commission estimates up to 5% of Americans experience some degree of identity theft each year.
