By You may have heard of credit card theft or fraud. What is credit card fraud? It involves using your credit card or its details illegally without your knowledge. The result can be fraudulent card-based transactions or identity theft to open unauthorised accounts in your name.
Once the fraud is caught, the card issuer won’t reduce your credit card limit. Else you might have to compromise without your fault.
Here are the 6 crucial steps to take if credit card fraud happens to you.
#1 – Contact your credit card issuer immediately
If fraudulent transactions have been made using your credit card, instant action can prevent further damage.
Here is what to do:
- Call your credit card issuer at once.
- Request a thorough investigation of the unauthorised transactions on your card.
#2 – Get a new credit card
If the card issuer investigates and verifies that fraud has happened, you’ll be eligible to apply for a new credit card. It will come with a new CVV code and card number. Ensure that the compromised card is blocked at once to prevent further misuse.
#3 – Check your other credit card accounts
You have caught fraudulent charges on one of your credit cards. What if some of your other cards also contain such fraud? You don’t know how the fraudster got the card information.
So, take precaution as follows:
- Check the accounts of all the other credit cards for any signs that they too are compromised.
- If other accounts also contain suspicious charges, follow the same course of actions as with the previous card.
#4 – Notify the credit bureaus
If you find one or more credit card accounts being used without your permission, do as follows:
- Alert the credit bureaus at once about the card fraud(s).
- Request them for an immediate credit freeze. Then the criminal cannot cause further damage like opening a new credit card account with your details.
#5 – Call the police
On detecting credit card fraud, you must file a police report right away for the following reasons:
- Suppose you see a pattern of fraudulent charges over some days on your credit card statement. Then the police will open an investigation using your records.
- If your wallet was stolen, the thief might have misused your identification cards also. As a result, unauthorised credit and utility accounts may be opened in your name. To handle such identity theft, seek the help of the police instantly.
#6 – Check all your online shopping accounts
Today most online shopping websites allow you to save your credit card information for future shopping.
So, once you detect credit card fraud, take these steps:
- Ensure that your online shopping accounts aren’t compromised.
- If the accounts aren’t secure, remove the details of the compromised cards instantly.
- Change the account passwords also.
Never share your card’s CVV code or transaction OTP with anyone. Check your credit card statement regularly for any unauthorised card-related transactions. Once you detect fraud, take the above steps to prevent further damage and reinforce safety. Do your best to smoothly use your card!
