I have misplaced a notebook with my mom's information and am worried about the wrong person finding it. What should I do?

Trisha, Do you remember where you last saw it? Sometimes I backtrack and that really helps me remember where I put the lost item. Did you temporarily place it somewhere while packing things up or moving things around?
I often do this. Am going through a move myself right now and there are a few items I remember packing but now cannot find in the new home. Sometimes it helps to go back to the last room you saw the item in...and then you may realize where you placed it. Sometimes things like notebooks or books don't interest others. In the meantime try backtracking and I wish you luck in finding it!

If there is any chance that it was left at the NH, tell the staff and ask them to be on the lookout for it.

This will sound silly, but when I "lose" something important - I ask God to tell me where I put it - then I go sit down. Believe it or not, I tend to "find" whatever it was within a day. It will just pop into my head to look in the "last place" and voila! - there it is.

Have you looked in your purse and the car? It could have fallen between the seats. My DH lost his wallet when he was reclined in the car. We looked everywhere but we found it nestled in the pocket created when the car seat was reclined again.

Good luck - I am saying a prayer for you to find this notebook. It can't hurt.

Get some trusted friends to help search.

Pray to St. Anthony. He will find it for you. He is ALWAYS there and this really does work. I even had a Jewish doctor pray to him for a lost item and he found it!

P.S. If you do pray to St. Anthony, let me know when you find it!

To be safe you can put a credit freeze at all 3 credit bureaus. This will ensure that her identity is as protected as can be.

I hate to say it but yea, it is a big deal that all of that information was lost. Medical identity theft is one of the top identity thefts. I would also contact Medicare and find out if they have any flags they can put on her account.

I pray you find it soon.

Check the boxes you packed. Maybe it's in there. Good luck.

Can you arrange to lose your car keys, or your glasses, or the right charger for your cell phone?

If you are looking for something that you need much more urgently, you are bound to come across the notebook.

I always “lose things” when I am stressed. I make myself calm down. and carefully start cleaning around and clearing things away. Having some friends help do a grid search sounds like a good suggestion. I have a notebook with all our passwords that I occasionally misplace. I put a slim Tile tracker on the inside.

When [not if but when ... be positive] you find it - change the numbers some way - rip out pages & recopy - you can change numbers by:

1 - reverse some numbers like 5638942 would be 2538924 but do it in a way that is easy to remember & all the same way

2 - add a number to it - use an easy to remember # like the year of YOUR birth [not hers in case that's in the book] or wedding anniversary so that 4523785 would add 1967 to give 4525752 this way you have numbers at hand but nobody else can use them

3 - I write odd phrases that are meaningless to others but trigger my memory which helps with all those passwords I have eg. so I might use "gran" then use my grandmother's birthday or name for that card & there is a choice of 2 grannies to pick from

4 - spell something wrong - so "yell." [for yellow] means a chrysanthamum to you so use "muum" etc

It may turn up in your auto. Check thoroughly before panicking.

I understand your anxiety. It is possible to get a SS# changed. Check with the SS office. This would apply to other numbers as well. Everyone should be checking their credit report. Do a check on the credit report to see if there has been any activity. A new federal law has been passed recently allowing you to put a freeze with the credit reporting agencies for free. You might want to freeze her credit. I have some ideas for the future. Your phone probably has a lock and a camera. You could put all the info in your phone in a note taking area. If you can't get that to work, write the stuff on paper and take photos of it. You should have a backup of the info stored somewhere in your home.

I completely understand how much pressure you are currently under. Please be kind to your self (no kicking your own butt).

One time I misplaced some jewelry while traveling. After calming myself down, I located it in a pocket of my luggage that is rarely used.

Rethink hard where you could possibly have left the notebook.

Trisha1958, any luck finding the notebook?

If not, can you share what steps you have taken to protect the lost information?

It could be very beneficial for anyone else who might run into a similar situation.

I hope you found it and I thank you for sharing.

Good morning Everyone!
Good News!
I found it! Thank God! I had decided I would never find it and I guess I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t see where it was. I found it under a box full of Moms stuff I was moving out of her apartment.
Foolish of me to put it there but I have moved her pretty much by myself and am so tired and fatigued that I was standing there stacking those boxes and walah!!!
Thankyou all for the support and suggestions on finding it.
Relieved!

Yahoo! Hopefully you didn't have a bunch of stuff changed.

I still recommend putting a credit freeze so that is one less worry for you.

It only takes one day to unfreeze if you want to open an account or buy on credit.

Now, take a hot bath and get a good night's rest.

Hugs to you for taking care of mom!

Have at least a plan A or plan B or more for backup just in case it's with all important data or information that is crucial. Like Felix the cat. "Do I go exit stage left or exit stage right. Or run into the wall trying find it. Never leave anything of importance out because may have ended up in trashcan like my dad's checkbook several times.

Don't lose it again. Things like that need to be digitised and the paper copy shredded.

Trisha you have given me hope!

Just curious, did you ask St Anthony? - there are a few things I might think of listing for him...