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Comment by uptown | Hacker News Reader

I just wish Facebook would deliver messages I've sent to strangers to their actual inbox. Example - I found somebody's wallet. Found that person on Facebook, and sent them a message. Never heard back, but I can only assume my message is sitting in their 'Other' inbox.

Stuff like that makes it easy to not depend on the site for anything.

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Oops, I just checked my facebook Other and it turns out someone had found my credit card and had messaged me (in April).

I feel like this is a problem and I'm kind of disappointed Facebook did this without any notification or indication. Cancelling my credit card was annoying and it's more annoying that there is nothing I can do to fix this in the future.

Couldn't you do a friend request with a message in the friend request explaining who you are? I know linked in does this but I can't remember if Facebook does.

I actually tried that wondering the same thing - but they don't let you send any message with your request. Since they didn't, I rescinded the friend request since I was not interested in exposing my personal information to a complete stranger.

Facebook used to, along with a "how do you know each other" box. Presumably neither were used heavily so they got rid of them.

Why is facebook the first thing you think of? I would go to a phone book, and failing that, just drive it over to the address on the driver's license.

Phone books aren't really useful in NYC. Personally, I haven't had a land-line or a phone book in about a decade, and it wouldn't surprise me if that's common for others that live in the area. Also, there was no drivers license. Just a bank card (with a name and photo that I could match against Facebook) and a metrocard.

I didn't mean a physical paper phone book: www.superpages.com, for example. It wouldn't surprise me if there was no listing, but it is still what I would try first. I note that in another comment, you mentioned that you tried the bank, but they wouldn't help if it wasn't found in the branch. I would have been tempted to leave it in the branch to be found by someone else. :) I guess that leaves the police. They probably stand a better chance of tracking someone down.

Isn't this exactly what they're making possible? Take a dollar out of the wallet and use that dollar to get in their inbox.

Nothing better than artificially creating a problem, just to charge for the solution!

Wallet had just a bank card and a metro card. Also, it's not my money to spend even if there was cash there.

I ended up bringing it to the bank branch nearest where I found the wallet (Bank of America) who was also unhelpful. They told me that unless the wallet had been found in their branch they wouldn't contact the owner even though it had her name and photo on the bank card. Because of their unwillingness to help, I vowed to never become a customer of Bank of America.

The suggestion to use a dollar from the wallet was tangential to the point. Now you can get into strangers' inboxes. Spending a dollar of your own money to do so is cheaper than the effort you've described.

> They told me that unless the wallet had been found in their branch they wouldn't contact the owner even though it had her name and photo on the bank card.

You should have said, "Okay, thanks", thrown the wallet towards the exit, walked over and picked it up, and walked back over to the counter.

"Hey, I just found this wallet over by the exit."

I told the bank guy I thought their policy was absurd and that I trusted he'd do the right thing - and left it in his possession. I also sent another Facebook message to the woman letting her know where I'd left it and how they'd declined to call her. Out of my hands. Did what I could.

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