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Asking advice re: FB message about lost/found ID Card on Camino

Irenie

Irenie
Donating Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (16,'17,'18)
Finisterre/Muxia( '17, '18)
Portuguese Central & Coastal ('18)
Hola, Friends. I feel like I'm in a strange situation and would be grateful for suggestions on my next step. I just received a Facebook Message from a man in Spain who found my American driver's license that I lost last August or September, 2016. At the end of my Camino, in Santiago, my credit etc. cards fell out of their sleeve and I discovered that the license was missing. I started in SJPdP and had no idea where or when I lost the card. I replaced it when I returned home in late September. The FB Message: "Hello, have you lost a Driver's License in Spain?" I replied: "Are you a Camino Pilgrim?" He replied that he lives in Puente la Reina and found the ID on a Street. He wrote that he keeps it at home... "Since a week ago But today I had the idea to look for you on Facebook" It's very likely that he is a kind person who is trying to be helpful, and I don't want to ask him to spend money or time. I had watched my credit report and didn't notice any problems. But I'm not sure how to proceed and want to be careful. Thank you for any suggestions.
 
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Charlotte Helbig said:
Maybe you could just thank him very much, you really appreciate his time and effort, but that you replaced the licence when you returned home, and not to worry about it. It sounds like he is just trying to be helpful.
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Thanks, @Charlotte Helbig. That is one of my first choices. I don't want to be ungrateful or suspicious in these crazy, trying times. I might also ask him to please cut it up.
 
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Irenie said:
I don't want to be ungrateful or suspicious in these crazy, trying times.
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On the other hand, that thought is one of the primary ways that grifters take advantage! Your good nature is their opportunity. Trust, but verify. There is probably very little danger in what you have done or will do.
 
Well it never hurts to be too careful. "Trust, but verify"...I like it! Although if he were going to do anything malicious he a) probably would have done so by now, and b) wouldn't have looked you up on FB.
 
Well, if he is a crook and he needs your information off the card to do crook things, he apparently already has it, but since your credit report shows nothing suspicious his intentions are probably honest.
Thank him for his kindness in looking you up after finding the card, and then let him know that your card has already been replaced and that the old, lost card is now invalid and ask him to destroy it for you.
 
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falcon269 said:
On the other hand, that thought is one of the primary ways that grifters take advantage! Your good nature is their opportunity. Trust, but verify. There is probably very little danger in what you have done or will do.
Click to expand...

Yes, @falcon269 and @Charlotte Helbig, and @Mark Lee, all you write is helpful and spot on. I guess, I asked for support because this is in the realm of the unknown. Trust and verify and hope and be even more careful. Thank you for your replies and wisdom.
 
Your only option is to pretend you (the Facebook person) are not the same as the driver's licence person. I can't see how that reduces risk of anything.

So yes, thank him and ask him to destroy the card.
 
I don't understand what responding to him can "increase risk". He has your name, address and picture already. Responding to him won't give him more "ammunition" to do something wrong. Just say thanks, and ask him to mail it to you. You can then mail him a dollar to reimburse him for the stamp.
 
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Thank you, @C clearly and @anemone and everyone who replied. You've all provided options and ideas and I appreciate the support. I think it's unusual for someone to keep a found "thing" for so long. This shows how connected our world is with social media, the positive and negative. And how easy it is to lose "things" along the Way. I ended lighter and more at peace, so this was merely a bump and I hope it ends that way. Buen Camino, dear pilgrims.
 
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Hola @Irenie !

If it's any comfort to you, here in Spain people give out their personal ID numbers *all* the time (to the post office when picking up a package, to the schools when signing something for the kids, to deliverymen, when signing up for Carrefour loyalty cards, etc.). It's not like in the US where we protect our driver's license numbers and our passport numbers since others can steal them to steal our identities. In Spain, it's children's faces and personal beliefs (creeds, religious beliefs, membership in organizations) that are under a higher level of data protection than "simple" information like ID numbers, addresses, and phone numbers. When we registered Pilgrim House for the agency of data protection (saying we would comply with the data protection rules) we learned waaay more than we ever imagined we would about the way things work here - it was fascinating.

All that to say - it's still good to be cautious and wise, but it may not have occurred to your good Samaritan to do anything bad with your card. Hope that helps lessen any anxiety . Take care!
Faith
 
Thank you @natefaith and all of you for your sage advice and feedback. I appreciate learning that the kindness and generosity on the Camino extends beyond the Way and I'm planning to respond to the man who contacted me, in a positive and grateful note. In my Camino state of mind, of course I will try to be cautious and careful, but also recognize I am lucky and this is another example of why I want to walk another Camino.
 
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