Omaha, NE--Purse Snatchers have been striking all over the metro and it has women on alert and police warning to take action.

One thing you should be doing now to avoid heartache and headaches later, simplify the contents you carry.

First, the items you should never carry in your wallet.  Your social security card, the number, passport, birth certificate need to be left at home.  If you don't need your checkbook that day, leave it out too.  Mark Sundermeier with Signal 88 Security says thieves getting their hands on any one of those documents hits the jackpot.

"Any of those things, all of those things can be used to establish a false identity for thieves," remarks Sundermeier.

Along those lines, only carry two credit cards at a time.  Sundermeier adds, "A lot of people have as many as 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 credit cards and you can imagine the difficulty in canceling that many when you know the thieves will be hitting the stores within minutes of stealing your credit cards."

Of course, you should watch how much cash you're flashing.  One rule of thumb, only carry what you can afford to lose.

Also, avoid being taken again.  Stash your keys and garage door opener somewhere other than your bag.  If it's grabbed with your home address, it's a free entry to more loot, according to Sundermeier.  What's more, you'll be so busy trying to deal with the first theft, it will buy them time.

He recommends if your keys or garage door opener are gone, call a friend and have someone watch over the house until a locksmith can get there to change the locks. 

If your handbag is hit, the first call should be to the credit card companies.  Mauria Coleman learned how fast and furious crooks can work.  While inside a store, she got distracted and they lifted her wallet.  She didn't even realize it until she reached a second store.  Within an hour, they spent $300 on her credit cards.  Her recommendation: save the credit card companies' helplines on your cell phone.

"You should have that on your phone and on your person.  That way when you notice your credit cards are gone you can call immediately."

Sundermeier explains that calling to report the stolen cards as soon as possible also increases the chances of catching the crooks.

After that, call police and check-in with the credit reporting agencies to keep watch over your credit activity. 

Reported by Carol Wang, cwang@action3news.com