Credit Card Theft Protection

How to handle identity theft, when your credit card has been hijacked? Immediate action is necessary.

First get on the phone and report the theft to your credit card company or companies. Then sit down and write a letter to them with the same information, and mail it.

Then get in touch with one of the three major credit reporting bureaus and ask for a fraud alert to be placed on your credit file. Just one is fine as they must by law let the other two know about your situation.

Then call the police, not so much for the unlikely retrieval but because your credit card company may require you report the theft before you will be forgiven the transactions you didn’t make.

And one more thing. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. They have a database full of ID theft cases that police use to track down the thieves. Not a fun thing to think about, but be prepared if your card is stolen.