Con artist Frank Abagnale wrote a book called "Catch Me if You Can" which lead to a movie with the same title. Abagnale told CNBC that identity theft happens most often when someone steals a purse or wallet. With that in mind here are some things you should not have in your wallet:
1) Too many credit cards -Abagnale says the fewer cards you have in your wallet, the fewer calls you'll make to cancel them if your wallet is stolen.
2) Your Social Security Card-You should have your number memorized. Store it somewhere safe instead.
3) Checks-if you need to write someone a check Abagnale says carry only 1 check in your wallet. These days check fraud is pretty easy to pull off.
4) Gas station and ATM receipts- Even the last 4 digits of an account are a nice head start for a thief.
So clean out your purse, wallet and car before you go out holiday shopping. It will be thinner and lighter too. One final thought: these days more and more people are shopping with their phones so it makes even more sense to clean out your wallet. So you have only one item to worry about instead of two.
Source: CNBC