5 Steps You Need to Take if You're a Victim of Credit Card Fraud

Act fast, and credit card fraud is much easier to resolve.

These could happen to anyone, so every adult should know what to do in these situations. If you're a victim of credit card fraud, here are five steps that will help you resolve it ASAP.

1. Report it to the credit card issuer

If you found a fraudulent transaction on your credit card, report it to the card issuer immediately. You can dispute a credit card charge by calling the number on the back of your card or through your online account.

It's important to do this quickly so your card issuer can cancel the compromised card and prevent any more unauthorized charges. It will also send you a new card in the mail and take any fraudulent charges off your bill. Legally, consumers are only liable for a maximum of $50 in fraudulent credit card transactions. But just about every quality card issuer offers zero liability fraud protection.

You'll also need to do this if you were a victim of new account fraud. In this case, you'd call the card issuer of the credit card that was opened with your information.

2. Go over your credit card transactions

Check to see if there are any other fraudulent transactions on your bill. Start with the compromised credit card, but make sure to do this for any other credit cards you have, too. If you called your card issuer to report the fraud, the representative will likely review recent transactions with you over the phone to confirm they all check out.

Keep an eye out for small charges. Scammers often test credit card numbers with small transactions to see if they work. If so, they then move on to bigger scores.

3. Review your credit report

If you were a victim of new account fraud, there could be more than one fraudulent account opened using your information. Request your credit report with each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can do this on AnnualCreditReport.com. Look for accounts you don't recognize. If you find any, report them to the creditor.

It's also a good idea to continue checking your credit report periodically after this type of identity theft. Fortunately, you can get free weekly credit reports throughout 2023.

4. Contact the credit bureaus and consider freezing your credit

After new account fraud, you should contact each credit bureau to report the identity theft. That way, they can take the fraudulent accounts off your credit file.

You may also want to freeze your credit. A credit freeze prevents anyone from running a hard credit check on you, which is normally a requirement to open a credit account. This will prevent scammers from opening more credit cards or loans in your name. When you want to apply for credit yourself, you can unfreeze your credit.

5. Consider filing a police report

You can file a police report for either type of credit card fraud. Whether it's worth doing depends on the severity of the crime.

If someone opened a credit account in your name, or used your credit card for a large fraudulent purchase, then filing a police report makes sense. A police report is good supporting evidence to take to creditors and credit bureaus. Your credit card company will likely believe you if you say that you didn't make a $900 purchase -- but reporting it as a crime helps silence any doubts.

For fraudulent transactions below $500, you probably don't need a police report. You can ask your card issuer if a police report will help to double check. But in these situations, it tends to be a pretty cut-and-dried process. You report the fraud, your card issuer takes it off your bill and sends you a replacement credit card, and that's that.

The most important thing to remember about handling credit card fraud is that time is of the essence. If your credit card is lost or stolen, let the card issuer know right away to hopefully prevent fraudulent charges. And if you're the victim of either new or existing account fraud, report it as soon as you find out to get on top of it.