If your wallet is stolen with a bunch of cash, you probably won't get it back. If your wallet is stolen and the thief uses your credit card, you're not liable for more than $50 of the unauthorized charges — most issuers won't hold you liable for anything if you report it immediately, but legally you can be responsible for $50. Even debit cards aren't that safe. First of all, if someone uses your debit card, they're depleting your bank account, not just running up a balance on your card. Second of all, debit cards have different consumer protections, so depending on how quickly you report the fraud, you could be held liable for more than $50, even all, of unauthorized transactions.