| The shiny small piece of plastic in your wallet carries | | | | report such loss, you can find it out from the Internet. |
| enormous power. The responsibility to keep it safe is | | | | 5. Contact your local police to report the loss. You |
| yours but the money behind it is someone else's! It | | | | should also tell them the precautions you have taken |
| offers you a great convenience but it comes with the | | | | before contacting them. |
| danger of identity theft. You should be smart and quick | | | | 6. Report the loss to all the three main credit bureaus. |
| like a football player if it is lost or stolen. | | | | You should contact them individually and request for a |
| If you find your credit card missing, you should | | | | copy of your credit report to find out is there any |
| immediately report it to your card issuer. The Federal | | | | fraudulent account on it. Usually credit bureaus will send |
| law limits your liability towards frauds on lost credit | | | | you the copy free of charge. |
| cards to $50 from the moment you report it to your | | | | 7. Place a fraud alert on your credit card. This security |
| card issuer. However the story does not end there. | | | | alert will remain for 90 days and it is usually free. It will |
| Taking advantage of the details on the credit card, an | | | | alert the creditors for extending any credit on your |
| identity thief may damage your financial life. | | | | name. You can extend this alert further if you feel so. |
| Take the following precautions to protect yourself | | | | 8. Check the credit card statement carefully after |
| from credit card theft and fraud - | | | | reporting the loss. If you find any suspicious transaction, |
| 1. You should never carry a lot of cards with you. | | | | you should immediately report it to your card issuer |
| Take only those cards which you are likely to use. | | | | and cancel the card. |
| 2. When you receive renewed cards in place of your | | | | 9. There are several agencies offering useful services |
| old ones, you should cut the older cards with scissors | | | | when you lose your credit card. They will inform the |
| so that nobody can find out the number or name on it. | | | | card issuers on your behalf. This service is particularly |
| 3. You should write down the numbers of all your | | | | useful if you lose your wallet containing several cards. |
| credit cards on a piece of paper, with the toll-free | | | | By making one phone call, you will be able to report the |
| numbers for reporting lost card. | | | | loss to all the concern financial institutions. The small |
| 4. When you find that a card is missing, contact your | | | | fee they charge is worth the service. |
| card issuer immediately and report the fact of loss. If | | | | Remember to take these simple actions very quickly in |
| you do not have credit card number with you, take out | | | | order to get the protection to your finances and your |
| some old statement from where you can find that | | | | identity. |
| number. If you do not have the phone number to | | | | |