Stolen Credit Card

If you’ve lost your credit card, don’t panic. It happens all of the time. More likely than not, nothing bad will happen. However, as a precaution, you should take the following steps to ensure that you’re not held liable for unauthorized purchases and to prevent identity fraud:

1. Call the credit card issuer and report the card as lost or stolen. The phone number is printed on the back of the credit card. Put it in your phone while you still have the card. Alternatively, if you’ve already lost the card, you can find the number online.

2. Tell the card issuer the number of your account, the date you noticed that it’s missing, and the last purchase you made on the card.

3. Ask if there have been any purchases made after that date. If the answer is yes, you will need to fill in a form to confirm that these were unauthorized charges. You should not be held liable for fraudulent purchases. The credit card issuer will investigate your claim and refund the money.

4. The issuer will have canceled your card as soon as you reported it missing, so you’ll need to request a new one.

5. If someone else did use your credit card, contact the three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) and let them know that you’ve been a victim of identity theft. Ask them to put a fraud alert on your account, so the thief will not be able to apply for credit in your name.

6. Check your credit report on a regular basis to make sure that there are no unauthorized accounts or loans that you don’t recognize. If there are, contact the credit bureaus immediately.