Debit Card Stolen : What You Should Do Right Now

It can happen to anyone.  No one thinks that it could possibly happen to them until it does. You open up your wallet one day and cannot find your debit card. You know that it was just there. It crosses your mind that you might have had your debit card stolen.  But now what?[br]

It can happen to anyone.  No one thinks that it could possibly happen to them until it does. You open up your wallet one day and cannot find your debit card. You know that it was just there. It crosses your mind that you might have had your debit card stolen.  But now what?[br]

The first thing to do is double check anywhere that you may have placed the card. Maybe you overlooked it in your panic. If you live with anyone else, ask them if they’ve seen it. If you were at a store, call them and see if they have it. Once you have checked everywhere that you have been since you last saw the card and still can’t find it, now is the time to consider reporting the debit card stolen or lost.

Call the bank immediately, and do not wait a day or so. According to the banking rules you may only have a few days to report the card missing or you might be help liable for any unauthorized charges made with it. Reporting it at once is essential if you do experience fraud on your bank account. However, since you can’t be completely sure that you didn’t just misplace the card you should ask the bank is you can put a hold on the card and explain that it is missing.

This means that they will freeze the card and prevent it from being used unless you call the bank back and give them permission to reinstate it. This will give you some time to look for it before you cancel it. If you cancel the card now then you will have to wait up to a week for a new one in the mail and if you do find the missing card it will be useless. Some banks will not let you put a hold on a card if you report the debit card stolen or lost, they will simply cancel it. But it is always worth it to ask.[br]

You need to check your bank account daily for a few weeks. Look for any suspicious transactions that you do not recognize. Even though the card has been cancelled, there is a chance that someone used it to gain access to your account before it was cancelled, shockingly getting one number from the other is not that difficult for an experienced scammer.

You need to report unknown transactions to your bank as soon as possible. Again, you only have a limited time to report them or the bank will hold you liable for them. Once you report it they will have 10 business days to complete an investigation. Most likely the charge will remain on your account during that time, but you can request a temporary credit if you need it.