Do you know what's in your wallet? You should.

In a cruel twist, the recent Heart and Stroke Bonspiel ended in heartache for its main organizer, Heather Kirby. Kirby's wallet was stolen some time during the fundraiser, which took place at the Vankleek Hill Curling Club on February 14.

Almost everyone was on the curling sheet toward the end of the Heart and Stroke Bonspiel, cheering on the last curlers on the ice. Kirby remembers how great she was feeling at the end of the event, which raised about $7,700 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

But when she went to retrieve her purse from where it was stashed away under a table, she was shaken to find that while her purse was still there, it no longer contained her wallet.

"I couldn't believe it at first," Kirby said, recalling that she searched everywhere for her wallet, assuming that she had neglected to replace it in her purse.

"This was an event at the curling club; I knew all of the people there," she said last week, still in a state of disbelief.

Having been through almost a week of canceling credit cards and talking to people about the theft, Kirby has discovered she is not alone.

"So many people have horror stories about their wallets being stolen in different ways," Kirby said. After a worrisome few days, Kirby said she decided to share her story publicly with the hope that it would help others take more care about where they leave their wallets and purses and second - she hopes her story makes others take more precaution when carrying cards and identification in their wallet.

Kirby says she was lucky. She had only her driver's license in her wallet: no social insurance card, no birth certificate.

"You don't get another social insurance number," Kirby pointed out. "That card is your identity. It is the same thing with your birth certificate. These things are documents and if you carry them with you, you are making your whole life vulnerable to theft."

Kirby says she also lost credit cards, gift cards that were in her wallet, some cash and a house key.

"I had to go home that night knowing that someone had a key to my house and knew where I lived," she pointed out. "I usually go home so happy from this event, but this year, the first thing I did when I got home was call the police."

Returning to the subject of birth certificates, social insurance numbers and passports, Kirby emphasizes that these are not items that are requested often.

"There is no reason to carry those with you. And even credit cards or gift cards . . . maybe you don't need to carry all of them with you all of the time," Kirby related, reminding everyone that credit cards carry your signature, so keeping blank cheques in your wallet might not be such a good idea, either.

Kirby says that while many people know it is a good idea to photocopy all of the cards you carry in your wallet, many of us don't take such precautions.

In small towns and familiar environments, we tend to be trusting with our belongings, Kirby noted. Women leave purses and bags unattended; men leave car keys and wallets in coat pockets.

Kirby related a story of a coat rack just inside the door at a curling club in a nearby town. Thieves had only to step inside the door and check coat pockets to retrieve car keys, wallets, credit card receipts and more.

"My message is: be aware of your surroundings and think about what you leave in a public place. Ask yourself . . . what have I got in my wallet and do I really need it?"

"I was so upset about this and then I thought . . . I need to tell people about this so at least my story can benefit someone else," Kirby ended.

Share your lost wallet horror stories or happy endings with The Review. Email your story to: review@thereview.ca