My mom wasn't the villain either. She knew I loved cards and I did a decent
job of hiding them away. My brother- and then I- were the culprits. He knew
how much I loved the cards, and when we fought he would vow to take several
cards from my collection and put them in his, knowing I may not miss them.
My solution was to write my initials on the backs of the cards! That showed
him, didn't it!
I specifically recall this phenomenon with mid to late 70s
Topps football. Ah, what a wonderful memory(??)... Trent King