So, sadly your possessions got stolen. It really doesn’t make any difference if your camera, or your wallet or your purse got stolen, because something that was yours now is in another man’s hands. You panic, you don’t know this city, maybe you are just a tourist, you need to get your ID back because you have a flight to catch, and what about your money? And what about your cards?

FIRST OF ALL: Take a deep breath. Relax. You’re ok. The world didn’t come to an end. You can and you will fix this.

Well, when I decided to write this article, I personally tried to call a police station and ask them what should a foreign person do in case that happens. It was all sugar and spice, and everything nice in my mind, I was like: “oh, let’s call a nice policeman and ask him what to do. Policemen always know what to do”. But actually the one that ended up picking up the phone to answer to my questions was, with all due respects, quite harsh and quite unhelpful. So I had to figure out what to do on my own. All he said to me was: you need to report this. So, first step:

1. REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY

Here you have a list of Madrid’s police stations where you can do that in person, but if not you can do it by calling to this number 902 102 112, or online.

Although you should know there’s a special police station that helps only foreigners, and is opened from 9.00h to 0.00 every day of the year.

Sate de Madrid
Address: C/ Leganitos 19, 28004, Madrid
How to get there: Metro Plaza de España
Phone number: 91 5488537
Email: satemadrid@esmadrid.com

But in case you’re feeling unsafe walking down the street alone (it’s alright to feel that way), just get into any bar, restaurant, pharmacy, hospital, or so, you can find and ask for help there. Pretty much anyone will lend you their phone or will show you where the nearest police station is and what you can do.

2. LOST MY PASSPORT, WHAT NOW?

Well, my colleague wrote an article on this matter in Spanish before, and you can find it here.

But basically and summarizing, you should know that first of all you need to go to your embassy, here’s a list of where you can find yours in Madrid. And there they will tell you what to do, what documents you need, and how much time will it take you to get one back, and so on.

After that, as mentioned in the article, you should contact your flight company and let them know what has happened, because some companies may accept your report receipt as a valid document to return to your country.

You should know that in case you are American, your embassy wouldn’t be allowed to issue an emergency pass. But here’s your embassy’s website to know more about what your options are.

3. CREDIT CARDS?

The first thing you should do is remembering the British motto: keep calm and carry on. When you no longer need a brown bag to breathe you should call your credit card company and explain to them what has happened.

Then they will probably cancel all of them, and put a fraud alert on your credit report.

You should probably stay calm, because this is a long and tiresome process in which you’ll have to wait for your credit company to send a new one, with a new PIN and so.

Here are some tips on this matter by Elisa Doucette on her Forbes’ article:

  • Travel with multiple sources of access to your money
  • Know your banking details
  • Keep your bank updated
  • Understand your bank’s international policies
  • Don’t pay more than necessary to get money
  • Have an address to receive packages and mail at
  • Call the bank and ask to be transferred to the fraud department to reset your card to accept the charges. Takes about 10-20 minutes
  • Take down every single representative’s name, location and other identifying information
  • Assure them you are not here to get them into trouble

Furthermore, I’ve heard it said that some banks would get you special credit cards for when you decide to travel to “dangerous” places. So if after this you feel a bit paranoid, that would be a great option for you.

ALL IN ALL

  1. Calm down
  2. Report it either by going to a police station, by calling them or online
  3. Go to your embassy and call your flight company.
  4. Cancel all your credit cards and ask your bank for a new one