Credit Card Advice Corner


Protecting Against Credit Card Fraud


Tips to protect from credit and charge card fraud:
  • Sign your credit cards as soon as you receive them.
  • Keep a record of your credit card account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place, other than in your wallet.
  • Keep a watchful eye on your credit card during the transaction, and get it back as quickly as possible.
  • Void any incorrect receipt, and destroy carbon copies.
  • Save your credit card receipts to compare with billing statements.
  • Open your monthly statement promptly and reconcile credit card accounts monthly.
  • Promptly report any questionable credit card charges, follow-up in writing to the credit card issuer.
  • Use Calculatorplus.com's credit card calculator to calculate credit card minimums.
  • Notify credit card companies in advance of any planned change in address.
  • Do NOT lend your credit card(s) to anyone.
  • Do NOT leave credit cards or receipts lying around.
  • Do NOT sign a blank credit card receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total.
  • Do NOT give out yourcredit card account number over the phone unless you're making the call to a company you know is reputable.

Reporting Losses and Fraud
If you lose your credit card or charge cards or if you realize they've been lost or stolen, immediately call the issuer(s). By law, once you report the loss or theft, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized credit card charges. In any event, your maximum liability under federal law is $50 per credit card.

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Advice Corner

Identity Theft Victims

Federal laws protect victims of identity theft. These laws are related to documenting the theft; dealing with credit reporting companies; dealing with creditors, debt collectors, and merchants; and limiting the victim’s financial losses caused by the theft of your identity. The following is a summary of the rights of identity theft victims:

Documenting the Theft

- Identity theft victims have the right to:

  • File a police report with a law enforcement agency and ask for a copy of it to show how that their identity has been misused.  
  • Victims can file a second report, an identity theft report.  This is a police report with more detail. To be an identity theft report, it should have enough information about the crime that the credit reporting companies and the businesses involved can verify that you’re a victim, and know which accounts or information have been affected.
The FTC’s ID theft complaint form is a good place to start documenting the theft of your identity. This form asks you for the kind of detail that the identity theft report requires. Once you fill out this form online and print it, you can use it with the police report to create your identity theft report.

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Dealing with Credit Reporting Companies

- You have the right to:
  • Place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit files. You should do this if you think you are or may become the victim of identity theft. A fraud alert tells users of your credit report that they must take reasonable steps to verify who is applying for credit in your name. To place a 90-day fraud alert, contact one of the three national credit-reporting bureaus. The one you contact is required to notify the other two.
  • Place a seven-year extended fraud alert on your credit files. You should do this if you know you are a victim of identity theft. You will need to provide an identity theft report to each of the credit reporting bureaus.
  • Obtain a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau. You can get these when you place a 90-day initial fraud alert on your credit reports. When you place an extended fraud alert with any credit reporting company, you have the right to two copies of that credit report during a 12-month period. These credit reports are in addition to the free credit report that all consumers are entitled to each year.
  • Ask the credit reporting bureaus to block fraudulent information from appearing on your credit report. To do this, you must submit a copy of a valid identity theft report. The credit reporting companies then must tell any creditors who gave them fraudulent information that it resulted from identity theft. The creditors may not then turn the fraudulent debts over to debt collectors.
  • Dispute fraudulent or inaccurate information on your credit report with a credit reporting company. The credit reporting company must investigate your charges, and fix your report if they find that the information is fraudulent.
  • In many states, you have the right to restrict access to your credit report through a credit freeze. A credit freeze makes it more difficult for an identity thief to open a new account in your name. Your state attorney general’s office has information about using a credit freeze where you live.
  • Use these finance calculator to help you make the right decision.

Dealing with Creditors, Debt Collectors, & Merchants

- You have the right to:
  • Have a credit report free of fraudulent accounts. Once you give creditors and debt collectors a copy of a valid identity theft report, they may not report fraudulent accounts to the credit reporting companies.
  • Obtain copies of documents related to the theft of your identity — for example, applications used to open new accounts or transaction records — if you give the company a valid police report. You also can tell the company to give the documents to a specific law enforcement agency; that agency doesn’t have to get a subpoena for the records.
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