Understanding Credit Card Fraud and How to Report It
Credit card fraud is a very common problem, including stealing and tampering with transactional information from it without the owner's knowledge. Therefore, it falls under cybercrime and identity theft and demands special technical and legal support for prevention.
Therefore, credit card security is highly important to save your money and data from malicious hackers. The following segment will discuss the steps one should take to avoid fraud.
What to Do After a Credit Card Fraud?
If you have faced the problem of credit card fraud, you are not the only one. Globally, the number is huge and has increased since 2019. After losing a credit card or understanding that your information has been stolen, you must take action promptly.
Only this can save you from further damage to your money and identity. Listed below are some helpful steps that you should take as soon as you identify any wrong with your credit card.
1. Call Your Credit Card Company
As a matter of fact, you need to inform your credit card company immediately about the fraudulent case. Every credit company out there has speedy service in this case. In addition, popular credit card companies such as Mastercard and Visa guarantee that you should not face any charges for unauthorised transactions with your card.
Therefore, consider this first step very seriously, as the credit card company will likely cancel your card and issue a new one as soon as you report the issue.
2. Change Your Password
As you have already informed the credit card company, resetting the password is the next effective step from your end. It will block the hackers from further hampering your account. Therefore, you should carefully change all your passwords and PINs for the stolen card and for all the others you have for additional security.
3. File a Police Complaint
As the law says, you should report your credit card fraud and theft to your nearest police station. This is because stealing credit cards is related to monetary issues and serious trouble to your identity. Further, this can cause grave problems in your life for which you are not responsible at all. In addition, police or credit bureaus can give you effective solutions on how to save your credit card in future.
4. Check Your Credit Card Reports Continuously
After doing all three primary steps, you should be aware of your credit card reports. For a few months, you need to monitor every transaction and other charges to become aware of the status of your accounts.
In addition, sometimes, you may get unnecessary fraudulent charges, which can be piled up if you don't track them carefully. You can report any discrepancy and claim the money back as per laws if you notice any discrepancy.
5. Monitor Your Online Shopping Accounts
Online shopping sites actively save all of your card details. Therefore, you must choose these sites carefully and check their credibility beforehand. For further security, you can remove all the saved details of your card from these sites.
How to Report Credit Card Fraud For Some Popular Banks?
Mentioned below are some effective steps you can follow to report and block your credit card by net banking:
Steps to Report Credit Card Fraud to HDFC Bank
Step 1: Go to the official portal of HDFC bank and log in
Step 2: Select the “card” tab
Step 3: Find the credit card section and click on "Request" option
Step 4: Find ‘Credit Card Hotlisting’ option and click on it to block your card
Steps to Report Credit Card Fraud to IndusInd Bank
Step 1: Login into the official portal of IndusInd bank
Step 2: Click on 'Service Requests’
Step 3: Choose ‘Credit Card Request’
Step 4: Click on ‘Credit Card Blocking Request’
Step 5: Give your card details and click on submit.
Steps to Report Credit Card Fraud to Citibank
Step 1: Login into the official portal of Citibank and choose ‘Credit Card’ option
Step 2: Give the details about your card
Step 3: Choose ‘Account Statement’ option
Step 4: Click on ‘Dispute’
Step 5: Choose the fraudulent transaction and submit
Steps to Report Credit Card Fraud to YES Bank
Step 1: Login into their official portal of YES bank
Step 2: Click on ‘Credit Card’
Step 3: Choose ‘Block Credit Card’ option
Apart from these banks, you can report credit card fraud through various bank specific methods as well. For example, you can get quick assistance by calling the toll-free numbers of SBI, Canara Bank, RBL Bank, Kotak Mahindra, IDBI, BOI, and HSBC and get a solution to your problem.
What Are the Tips to Protect Your Credit Card From Further Damage?
You can take the following tips to save the valuable information of your credit card from further damage,
- Do not write your password anywhere
- Monitor your transaction thoroughly
- Avoid using public Wi-Fi while doing transaction
- Pay to the secured websites only
Hope this guide on Credit card fraud has given you a comprehensive idea of what to do in such a serious situation. However, to avoid these circumstances, you should be very careful from the beginning and learn to manage these situations properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do banks refund the fraudulent amount?
Yes, as per RBI, banks are responsible for refunding all the fraudulent money as the whole process of transaction is fully encrypted, and any discrepancy owes to the bank.
How long can it take to get the refund money from banks?
The procedure does not take more than 30 days. However, it depends on the policies of different banks.
Which documents are necessary to report credit card fraud?
The documents that one needs to present at the time of reporting include a bank statement copy of the last six months, ID, address proof, and a copy of SMSs of fraudulent transactions, etc.