What to Do if Your Credit Card is Stolen
Posted: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com
If you have just discovered that your purse or wallet is missing, your credit card may have been stolen. Whether your credit card was lost or stolen, it has the potential to cause a lot of harm if it falls into the wrong hands. In the event that your credit card is lost or stolen, you will need to move quickly to avoid damage to your good credit, especially if your credit card carries a high limit.
If you have one or more credit cards, it is advisable to take photocopies of the front and back of each card (since a wallet can easily go missing, you should do the same with important documents such as social security cards). Store these photocopies in a safe place in your home so that if you ever do lose your wallet, you will know exactly what went missing.
Now we will move to what you need to do if your credit card, bank card or ATM debit card disappears. The steps below should be taken as quickly as possible.When a single credit card goes missing, it is easy to think you may have simply misplaced it and assume it will eventually turn up. You should never let yourself fall into that assumption. While you are waiting and hoping you will find your card, someone may be racking up thousands of dollars of credit in your good name.
2. Report the lost or missing credit card.
As soon as you realize that you do not have your credit card, look for the issuing company's toll-free number. Most credit card companies have specific phone lines to deal with this problem that are available 24 hours a day. The toll-free number to call should be printed on your most recent statement. If you are away from home and do not have access to a statement, you may be able to find the number by going to the credit card company's Web site.
3. Document everything.
While speaking with your credit card company, make sure to note the name of each representative you speak with. Then, document the conversations that were had in a formal letter to your credit card company. Following these steps will ensure you are not held liable for any unauthorized charges. Your letter should also include your name, the account number, the date and time you noticed your card was missing and the date and time you contacted the credit card company.
4. Contact the three credit reporting agencies.
In order to further protect yourself and your good credit, you will now need to be vigilant about what takes place on your record. Your credit card company will close out your stolen card and issue a new one. Unfortunately, you don't know what other personal information of yours the perpetrator has. This is especially true if your entire purse or wallet was stolen, and even more true if you're in the habit of storing passwords for accounts there. Call Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to report the theft. Request that each bureau attach a fraud alert to your accounts. It's not a bad idea to sign up with a credit monitoring service for a few months after having your wallet or credit card stolen.
Having your credit card stolen can be very scary. Now that you know what to do if it ever happens to you, you are prepared to deal with the problem efficiently and expediently.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I knew you had to get the fingerprints and blood type of the person you spoke with but I wouldn't have thought of calling the credit reporting companies - great information! MArijo
Hi Marijo, I'm glad you found this article useful.
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