What Do I Do If My Credit Card Has Been Compromised?

As of 2020, hacking is on an unprecedented level like it never has been before. While there are hundreds of thousands of hackers in the world, there are steps you can take to minimize or potentially even fault all damage to your card once you have been hacked.

Deactivate Your Card And Destroy It

There are plenty of people out there that will grab someone’s credit card information and go on the shopping spree of a lifetime. Fortunately, most banks have developed security measures such as notifying cardholders whenever purchases are made. With this feature, cardholders are immediately notified after a purchase was made. If it was not made by the cardholder, you can call the bank and tell them you did not make the charge on your card and deactivate it. The bank should then send you a new credit card and you can destroy the older card to prevent further issues.

Update Your Information

By updating your information and changing card numbers, you will limit hackers' knowledge about you. In doing this, you will be able to keep your card safe and secure without more hassle. Changing your payments is another way to keep off the hackers. If you have an occurring credit card bill that charges your bank a fixed fee each month, making sure this is changed until you can solve your credit card is essential to maintaining your money in the bank and credit score high.

Changing Passwords

This is one of the more crucial steps to make sure that you don’t get hacked again. If you’re someone who uses the same password for all personal accounts, it’s crucial you change all passwords so nobody can get back into your system. Be it your banks, social media, or personal accounts, it is essential to change everything after being hacked.

The Good News

Most credit cards offer Zero Fraud Liability when your card is compromised. With this feature, even if your card is compromised, you won’t be needing to pay a single penny even if being charged with $1,000 in purchases on your credit card. However, if for some reason you have a credit card that doesn’t offer the Zero Fraud Liability protection, then the maximum you will be needing to pay is around $50. 

The Bad News

The worst part of getting your credit card stolen is it can greatly damage your credit score and credit line. Banks won’t be wanting to hand money over with ease to someone whose account was recently hacked and damaged to a point where they lost hundreds or potentially even thousands of dollars.

Takeaways

Try to make sure that the credit card you have has Zero Fraud Liability protection, as it is always better to be safe rather than sorry. Even if your credit score or credit line is damaged for a period of time, they can always recover in time when you start to make daily purchases again and pay off your credit card bill on time.