If Your Card is Stolen, How Much are You Liable For?

One of the most dreadful things that can ever happen is for your credit card to be stolen. However, this is not the time for you to panic. Instead, you need to take action right away. It is of utmost importance that you report to your credit card issuer about your stolen credit card immediately. Reporting your stolen card as soon as possible makes it less likely for you to be liable for potential fraudulent charges.

Your Liability for Charges on Your Stolen Card

The FCBA or Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal law stating your rights if you have a stolen credit card. The law defines that it will not be your liability if there are charges that occur if the theft has been reported before the fraudulent charges have been made using your account. But, you might be liable for a maximum of $50 if a thief uses the stolen credit card before you were able to report about the theft. It is the reason why reporting about your stolen card should be done as soon as you noticed that it has gone missing.

For fraudulent charges made with just your credit card number instead of the physical card itself, you will not be held liable for fraudulent charges that may take place. Your credit card issuer might ask for the security code found at the back of the card to check if you still have the card with you.

Be sure that you don’t fall for phishing scams where scammers will try to trick you to provide your security code while claiming that there is detected fraud on your account. Provide sensitive data only on calls that you make yourself to a number that you personally know and confirm to be that of your card issuer.

In case your account number is compromised, your card issuer can provide you a new card that has an updated security code or account number to prevent any unauthorized charges in the future.

Remember that the rules for charges on a stolen debit card are different. If your missing debit card has been reported in two days, the maximum liability you will pay is $50. But, if you do it after two days, your liability will go up to $500. If 60 days has gone by before your missing card is reported, you might end up liable for everything.

How to Report about Your Stolen Credit Cards?

Contact your creditor immediately once you notice any unauthorized charge made using your stolen card or card number. Inform them about your stolen cards and give them the details regarding the fraudulent charges.

As a follow-up, you can send a letter that includes the date your card got stolen, the specific date when you reported about your stolen card, and unauthorized charges made on your account. See to it that you send the letter through certified mail complete with return receipt requested to the address of the creditor for correspondence. The address is usually different from the address for payment processing.

Always keep a copy of your card number together with a phone number for the customer service department. Make sure you store this in a safe place that you can access right away so you can give your creditor a heads up right away if your card gets stolen.