It can be frustrating to lose your credit or debit card. You may have lost your wallet or it was stolen. Or you may be in a situation where your information is at risk of being stolen online through a compromised database.
Any of these scenarios allows the thief access to all your personal account information. That’s why you should act as quickly as possible as soon as you notice something wrong with your account. Here’s what to do if your credit card is lost or stolen.
Contact Your Credit Card Company
The first step is to contact your credit card company as soon as you notice your credit card is missing. If you report your card lost before it’s used, you won’t be liable for any unauthorized charges. If the card is used before you can report its loss, your maximum liability will be $50.
You may have a longer period if you discover you have an incorrect or fraudulent charge on your account since most people won’t catch charges until they review their monthly statements. Pro tip: do this every month to protect yourself from fraudulent or incorrect charges.
Wait for Your New Credit Card
Once you report the loss, the credit card company will cancel your current card and issue a new one for you. They may contact you if they believe your information has been compromised, sending you a new card as a precaution.
This means you’ll have a few days during which you won’t have access to your credit card account, so it’s important to have other cards you can use (like a debit card) and an emergency fund. You may also need to monitor charges that come through in the next few days so you can identify any legitimate charges and any illegitimate ones.
File a Police Report
You should also file a police report if your credit card was stolen. You’ll need this report to protect yourself if you have to dispute charges with your credit card company or other vendors.
If your identity was stolen as a result of this theft, you will have a report back to the time you were initially victimized. This is why a police report is important. Be sure to keep multiple copies of the report. If multiple cards of yours were stolen, you can use the same police report. Keep in mind that you will also need to provide a copy to your bank. However, it’s wise to keep a copy or two for your records.
Contact Your Bank
You may also need to contact your bank if your checkbook or debit cards were stolen or lost as well. You will follow almost the same procedures if your checkbook is stolen.
Make sure to monitor all your accounts to ensure there are no unauthorized activities on the account. You should keep an eye on the account for several weeks, as thieves may wait to access your account.
Change Your Automatic Payments
Another important step is to change all automatic payments you have linked to that credit card. These automatic payments can include automatic bill deductions or other payments, PayPal or Venmo accounts, even your rent or mortgage.
Updating your card information will prevent late payments and any resulting late fees. It may take some time to update your payment information across all your various accounts, but it’s an important step in the process.
You may want to create a list of the bills that are automatically deducted, the accounts that use that card for payment, so you can make the changes quickly. Do not put your account numbers on this list, just describe them by bank name or card information.
Monitor
Your Credit Report
If your credit card number or bank information has been stolen, you will need to monitor your credit report over the next few months.
Check Your Credit Report
You should check your credit report to ensure that no accounts have been opened in your name. You can do this for free once a year through the three major credit bureaus.
If you stagger between the bureaus, you can check one every four months, making it easier to monitor your credit. If you find an unauthorized account, you will have to report it as identity theft and contact the bank that opened the account. You may need to monitor your credit report for several months or even years, but remember it is essential if your credit card has been lost or stolen.
Credit Freeze
You can also notify the credit reporting agencies that you want to freeze your credit – it is also called a security freeze. The freeze, which is free, prevents any new accounts from being opened and can be useful if you believe your identity has been stolen.
However, a credit freeze can also be used as a tool to prevent fraud to ensure that no one is opening accounts in your name. When you want to apply for credit, such as a loan or credit card, you can temporarily unfreeze your credit until the new account or loan is opened. A credit freeze can be turned on or off at any time and can provide you with an extra layer of security and peace of mind.
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Sources:
Federal Trade Commission. “Lost or Stolen Credit, ATM, and Debit Cards.”
IndentityTheft.gov. “Steps to Recover from Identity Theft.”
AnnualCreditReport.com. “Home Page.”
TransUnion. “Credit Freeze.”
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-to-do-when-your-credit-card-is-stolen-2385750
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