Most of us now have credit cards. These cards are incredibly useful tools to indulge in luxury items, pay for holidays or anything else, while being able to defer the payments for those items for a short period of time. Most people have a certain credit limit on their card, which means their spending is also controlled. While incredibly useful, they are also dangerous and not just in terms of overspending and ending up in unmanageable debt, but also in terms of credit fraud.
Do you know what you should do in case of theft of credit card? And do you know what the consequences of this theft could be?
What May Happen If Your Credit Card Is Stolen
If your credit card has been stolen, the immediate danger is that it could get maxed out. Because so many stores now offer no contact payments, people don’t even need to know your PIN anymore in order to make payments. Similarly, they can order all sorts of things online, using your credit card. While this is an inconvenience, it is one that you can stop the moment you notice that your credit card is lost or stolen, which is hopefully before any real damage is done. Your credit card company has safeguards in place too, such as notifying you when there is unusual credit card activity.
A bigger issue, however, is identity theft. Once you have been the victim of theft of credit card, your financial identity is at risk. The thief is most likely to have sold your card on the black market to the highest bidder, who will use your information to apply for a range of other financial products for which they will never pay.
If you have signed up for a service for protection and your card gets stolen, you will be provided with advice on what you should do next. Furthermore, they will also provide you with hints and tips on how to minimize the chances of your card getting stolen in the first place. They also provide credit monitoring services that alert you to certain changes in your credit files that could indicate identity theft.