Seeing a fraudulent charge on your credit or debit card may make your heart race, but it’s not a moment to panic. Rather, it’s the time to keep a cool head and take deliberate steps to protect your finances and identity. At UHCU, we help people work through the complications of having a compromised card. Responding quickly is important, and we suggest taking these three steps right away if you think your card has been compromised.
Step 1 - Call your bank, credit union or credit card company.The sooner you call and report a fraudulent charge, the better. Your bank, credit union or credit card company will freeze your account, so that no more charges can be made with that card information. Most credit card companies will send you a replacement card that will come in the mail a few days later. UHCU uses Falcon Fraud Manager, a proactive monitoring service that will contact you directly regarding suspicious activity. To report a compromised card to UHCU, call our card services department at 512.435.4545, 903.597.7484 or 800.531.2328.
In addition, UHCU debit card users have the ability to pause their card in real-time in order to not allow any transactions. You can do this within Online Banking and the UHCU Mobile App. Look for the Card Management section on the right-hand side of Online Banking or by clicking the "More" button within the UHCU Mobile App.
Log in to your bank or credit card platform and change your passwords as soon as possible. When a card is compromised, it’s impossible to know what information the fraudster has. Changing your passwords puts a giant roadblock in front of their schemes and keeps your information secure. The passwords on the compromised credit or debit card are your first priority to change, followed by all the other places you have that card information stored for payment. It’s quite possible that the breach came through one of those accounts, and changing your passwords routinely is the best way to protect yourself now and in the future.
Step 3 – Monitor your accounts.Keep an eye on all your financial accounts for a few days by logging in and reviewing charges and purchases. Card scammers tend to act fast, making a cluster of charges before their victims notice. Since there’s no way to know what information they have, monitoring all your accounts for a few days is the best course of action because you’ll be able to see and report any additional fraud quickly.
Taking these three steps can stop credit and debit card fraud in action and prevent further affronts to your finances and identity. We hope you never have to experience a compromised card, but if you do, know that you have resources to protect yourself.
