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Credit Card Fraud

Posted On : Nov-03-2011 | seen (2306) times | Article Word Count : 481 |

Credit card fraud can be a nightmare. It is a form of identify theft that can leave people in financial ruin. Millions of people are victims of credit card fraud each year; there is no way to completely keep a used credit card safe. However, your actions upon immediately discovering the fraud can determine the severity of the situation.
Credit card fraud can be a nightmare. It is a form of identify theft that can leave people in financial ruin. Millions of people are victims of credit card fraud each year; there is no way to completely keep a used credit card safe. However, your actions upon immediately discovering the fraud can determine the severity of the situation. Monitoring your credit report online can help you keep track of what's what, but what should you do when you notice negative activity that's not your fault? This article outlines the basics.

Your first step to report credit card fraud is contacting the issuer. If you are still in possession of the credit card, there's probably a customer service number on the back of it. If the card has been stolen, turn to the Internet to acquire the necessary number to call. The vast majority of credit card companies allow their customers to report credit card fraud card theft 24/7.

By law, once you've reported the card or card number as stolen you are no longer responsible for unauthorized charges thereafter. However, federal law states that you are liable to pay a maximum of $50 per card. Whether or not the card company requests that you pay this amount is another matter entirely; some companies will; some won't. It is important to remember that credit card companies lose millions of dollars every year due to credit card fraud, and $50 is probably an insignificant amount compared to what was charged onto your lost credit card.


Your next step is filing a police report. This is especially important if you know who did it. Whether it was a convenience store, a mugger, or your next door neighbor, the police need to know so they can properly investigate the crime and prevent the person from committing another.

Under some circumstances, the police officers may turn down your case or not take you seriously. A good example is if you gave your teenage daughter the credit card then accused her of credit card fraud when she charged more than you expected. You should report credit card fraud when there is a legitimate case, not when you've acted irresponsibly with your finances.

One of the final steps is to pursue the case to ensure justice is served. If a particular website stole your credit card information, not only do you need to report credit card fraud but get the word out to prevent this from happening to other people.

The very last step to take when you report credit card fraud is to replace the stolen card. There is no way to prevent credit card fraud besides keeping it in a safe place and never using it, but everyone can take preventative measures by refusing to lend it out and being careful about who the card is shown to.

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Credit Card Fraud_99727.aspx

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Keywords : report, credit,

Category : Finance : Loans

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