Each year, thousands of Americans are victims of credit card fraud. If you ever become a victim of credit card fraud yourself, you will need to take specific steps in order to restore your credit and your good name. It is important to know how to protect yourself from credit card fraud and how to minimize the damage in the event it does happen to you.

One of the most important elements in protecting yourself from credit card fraud is keeping up with your card at all times. Even if you don’t use your credit cards often, you should always make sure they are accounted for and stored in a safe place. In the event your card becomes lost or stolen, it is imperative that you notify your credit card company as soon as possible. The sooner the loss or theft is reported, the less chance a criminal has to make fraudulent purchases on your card. Loss or theft can be reported by calling your credit card company’s customer service number. This number can usually be found on the back of your card and on your monthly statements. You can also go online to your credit card company’s website to obtain information on how to report lost and stolen cards. It is recommended that you commit your account information and customer service numbers to memory, so that you can quickly report loss of theft.

Another way to protect yourself is to make sure that you report any unauthorized charges on your card as soon as you discover them. The law considers any unauthorized charges on a credit card to be fraud. If the card is a MasterCard or Visa, you have to contact the bank or company that issues the card. For example, if you have a Capital One Visa card, you will need to call Capital One in order to report fraudulent charges. If you have a Discover or an American Express card, you have to notify those companies directly in order to make a fraud report.

Unauthorized charges can also be prevented by meticulously examining your billing statements each month. If you see a transaction that looks unfamiliar or suspicious to you, the credit card company can usually help you find out the origins of the charge and take a fraud report if necessary. While virtually all credit card companies take fraud reports over the phone, you should still follow up with them in writing in order to have a documented account of the incident. In your statement, you should state that you didn’t make the disputed charge or charges and that you didn’t give anyone else permission to make those charges either.

If you were the victim of identity theft, then it is possible that fraudulent credit card accounts were opened in your name. If this is the case then you will have to contact the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) as soon as possible. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to contest any derogatory information that maybe placed on their credit report. The law also requires the credit bureaus to delete any erroneous or fraudulent information from their reports. In the event of identity theft, you need to contact each agency directly in order to dispute any fraudulent accounts.

When contacting the agency, inform them that a fraudulent credit card account has been opened in your name. The credit bureau then has a maximum of thirty days to investigate the matter. Federal law states that a person cannot be held responsible for credit card transactions that were made after the card has been reported stolen. If a card is reported stolen after the fact, then the consumer can only be held responsible for a maximum of 50 dollars.