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Banking
Banking Education
Credit And
ATM Cards -
What To Do If They're Lost or Stolen
Credit And
ATM Cards:
What To Do If They're Lost or Stolen
Many people find it easy and convenient
to use credit and ATM cards. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and the
Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) offer procedures for you and
businesses to use if your cards are lost or stolen.
Limiting Your
Financial Loss
Report the loss or theft of your credit
and ATM cards to the card issuers as quickly as possible. Many companies
have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies.
It's a good idea to follow up your phone calls with a letter. Include your
account number, when you noticed your card was missing, and the date you
first reported the loss.
You also may want to check your
homeowner's insurance policy to see if it covers your liability for card
thefts. If not, some insurance companies will allow you to change your
policy to include this protection.
- Credit Card
Loss. If you report the loss before the cards are
used, the FCBA says the card issuer cannot hold you responsible for any
unauthorized charges. If a thief uses your cards before you report them
missing, the most you will owe for unauthorized charges is $50 per card.
This is true even if a thief uses your credit card at an ATM machine to
access your credit card account.
However, it's not enough simply to report your credit card loss. After
the loss, review your billing statements carefully. If they show any
unauthorized charges, send a letter to the card issuer describing each
questionable charge. Again, tell the card issuer the date your card was
lost or stolen and when you first reported it to them. Be sure to send
the letter to the address provided for billing errors. Do not send it
with a payment or to the address where you send your payments unless you
are directed to do so.
- ATM Card Loss.
If you report an ATM card missing before it's used without your
permission, the EFTA says the card issuer cannot hold you responsible
for any unauthorized withdrawals. If unauthorized use occurs before you
report it, the amount you can be held liable for depends upon how
quickly you report the loss. For example, if you report the loss within
two business days after you realize your card is missing, you will not
be responsible for more than $50 for unauthorized use.
However, if you don't report the loss within two business days after you
discover the loss, you could lose up to $500 because of an unauthorized
withdrawal. You risk unlimited loss if you fail to report an
unauthorized transfer or withdrawal within 60 days after your bank
statement is mailed to you. That means you could lose all the money in
your bank account and the unused portion of your line of credit
established for overdrafts.
If unauthorized transactions show up on your bank statement, report them
to the card issuer as quickly as possible. Once you've reported the loss
of your ATM card, you cannot be held liable for additional amounts, even
if more unauthorized transactions are made.
Protecting Your
Cards
The best protections against card fraud
are to know where your cards are at all times and to keep them secure. For
ATM card protection, it's important to keep your Personal Identification
Number (PIN) a secret. Don't use your address, birth date, phone or social
security number. Memorize the number. Statistics show that in one-third of
ATM card frauds, cardholders wrote their PINS on their ATM cards or on
slips of paper kept with their cards.
The following suggestions may help you
protect your credit and ATM card accounts.
For Credit
Cards:
- Be cautious about disclosing your
account number over the phone unless you know you are dealing with a
reputable company.
- Never put your account number on the
outside of an envelope or on a postcard.
- Draw a line through blank spaces on
charge slips above the total so the amount cannot be changed.
- Don't sign a blank charge slip.
- Tear up carbons and save your receipts
to check against your monthly billing statements.
- Open billing statements promptly and
compare them with your receipts. Report mistakes or discrepancies as
soon as possible to the special address listed on your statement for
"billing inquiries." Under the FCBA, the card issuer must investigate
billing errors reported to them within 60 days of the date your
statement was mailed to you.
- Keep a record — in a safe place
separate from your cards — of your account numbers, expiration dates,
and the telephone numbers of each card issuer so you can report a loss
quickly.
- Carry only those cards that you
anticipate you'll need.
For ATM cards:
- Don't carry your PIN in your wallet or
purse or write it on your ATM card.
- Never write your PIN on the outside of
a deposit slip, an envelope, or on a postcard.
- Take your ATM receipt after completing
a transaction.
- Reconcile all ATM receipts with bank
statements as soon as possible.
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