What Steps To Take Immediately If Your Credit Card Is Lost Or Stolen?

Have you ever imagined what would happen if your credit card got stolen or lost? Any number and amount of unauthorised transactions can take place on your credit card.

So how can that damage be prevented or at least minimised? Read on to find out what steps to immediately take when your credit card gets lost or stolen or you notice an unknown transaction on it.

Steps to take if your credit card is lost or stolen

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1. Block the credit card

The first step to take when you notice your credit card is lost, or stolen or an unauthorized transaction has taken place through it, is to block the credit card right away. You can immediately contact the bank's customer care to do so or do it yourself through the bank's app or through net banking. Blocking your credit card removes the scope of doing transactions through it.

2. File an FIR

Once you have notified the bank about the loss of their credit card, you can go to the nearest police station and file an FIR. This is beneficial because filing an FIR will ensure that you will not be held accountable if a dishonest party uses the stolen or lost credit card. The FIR also serves as legal proof that you have lost your credit card and the FIR aids in the application for a replacement card.

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Also Read: Warning Signs Of Approaching A Credit Card Debt Trap

3. Contact the credit bureau

This is a key step which people often tend to miss out on. In case your credit card is stolen or lost, you should notify your credit bureau about the same. This is because the unauthorized transactions can adversely impact your credit score since you are utilising more than 30% of your credit limit and not paying your credit card bill timely harms your credit score.

4. Continue to monitor the transactions

You should continuously monitor the stolen credit card¡¯s transactions and statements. In case you notice unauthorized transactions, here¡¯s what you can do, and what the RBI rules are:

Immediately inform the bank. The first and foremost step that one should take upon detecting a fraudulent transaction is to report it to their bank and get the card blocked, in order to prevent further misuse and minimize loss. Immediately notify the bank either by calling customer care, or visiting the bank¡¯s website or branch premises.

As per RBI, upon the occurrence of such fraudulent transactions, consumers are advised to notify the concerned bank at the earliest, as the longer the time taken to notify the bank, the higher would be the risk of loss to the bank/customer.

5. Understand the extent of liability

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-Extent of liability for the losses arising out of such fraudulent transactions

The RBI has clearly laid and notified guidelines for limiting the liability of customers in case of unauthorized electronic banking transactions. These guidelines are as under:

*Zero liability of customer- The Customer¡¯s liability for the fraudulent transaction would be zero in two cases. First, if it is caused by negligence or deficiency on the part of the card issuer. Secondly, in case the fraudulent transaction has occurred due to a third-party breach wherein the responsibility neither lies with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system, provided the customer has notified the bank within 3 working days of receiving the notification regarding the unauthorized transaction.

*Limited liability of customer -In case the customer¡¯s negligence led to fraud, such as when the payment credentials were shared by the customer, he/she will bear the entire loss until reporting the unauthorized transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorized transaction will be borne by the bank. Also, the customer¡¯s liability has been limited for cases wherein the responsibility of third-party breach lies neither with the bank nor with the customer, but lies elsewhere in the system, and there has been a delay of four to seven days on the part of the customer in order to notify the bank regarding the unauthorized transaction, as per RBI.

The customer¡¯s liability will be up to Rs 10,000 in the case of savings accounts as well as credit cards with a limit up to Rs 5 lakh; and up to Rs 25,000 for credit cards with credit limit above Rs 5 lakh.

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Keep in mind that in case of delay in reporting the fraudulent transaction beyond seven days, the liability for losses will be as per the bank¡¯s policy.

Also Read: Why CEO Tim Cook Was Almost Denied An Apple Credit Card

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