I used to think keeping a found wallet was okay if you tried to find the owner

Last Tuesday, I found a wallet on a bench outside the library in Springfield. It had about $80 cash and a driver's license. My old view was that if you looked for the person for a day, you could keep it. I took it to the library's lost and found instead. The librarian called the person right away, and she was so relieved. Has anyone else had a rule they followed that just felt wrong when it was real?

2 comments

2 Comments

ninas709d ago

Why is a day enough? That seems like a made up rule to make yourself feel better. You found her ID, you could have called her. The right thing is to get it back to the person, not just check a box. Glad you changed your mind, but that old rule was always selfish. It was about making their loss your gain.

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alexlewis8d ago

Exactly, @ninas70. That "wait a day" rule is just a story we tell to ease our own guilt. It turns a real person's problem into a game of finders keepers. You find a wallet with cash, you don't just hold onto it because you "earned" it by waiting. The right move is to call the number on the ID or drop it at their bank. Keeping something because someone else lost it is never a good look, even with a time limit.