I had a bit of a scare recently when my husband and I went camping. When I went to pull out my credit card to pay for our campsite, my card was missing. Things like this never happen to me! I am generally an extremely organized person. But, sure enough, it can even happen to organized people.
I frantically thought of all the places I’d last shopped using my credit card. Because we were camping I was limited to using my cell phone. Oh, and of course I had forgotten to charge the batteries before we left so my battery was dead after one phone call. (Guess I’m not that organized, after all!)
Fortunately there was a pay phone nearby and I was able to remember the last place I had used the card. I spoke to an employee who confirmed they had kept my card for me. Talk about relief! I was so glad I didn’t have to go through the process of canceling my card.
Unfortunately not everyone has the happy ending that I had after losing a credit card. If the wrong person finds your card, they can spend a lot of money and cause a lot of hassle. In the event that this happens to you, here are a few things that you can do:
1. Contact your credit card company immediately and inform them of the fraudulent charges. They will close your card to prevent any further charges. I would recommend closing your card even if you don’t see any fraudulent charges after you have made an attempt to find your card and have called the places where you recently shopped.
2. The next step is to follow company procedures and fill out any applicable paperwork to ensure that you will not be liable for the charges. Be prepared to wait a while for the investigation to take place.
3. Even if you haven’t lost your card, but you notice an unusual charge on your statement or online banking, I would recommend that you follow it up. Even if the charge is small, it is still worth the time it takes to investigate it as whoever has your credit card number may decide to charge a larger amount next time.
4. For information on how to protect yourself from credit card fraud and other general information regarding credit cards, click here.
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