Have you ever lost a purse or wallet, or worse still, had one stolen? It can happen to anyone and is more common than you might expect. In today’s world where many of us don’t carry cash, thieves targeting credit cards, debit cards and mobile phones can cause havoc with your finances in a very short time.
Apart from the loss and potential for identity theft, it is also a stressful situation for the victim. We have all got that sinking gut feeling when we can’t find a wallet or purse and the massive relief when it turns up where we left it! But when you have exhausted all of the options as to where it was put, what do you do?
Contact your bank, building society or credit card issuer to notify that it’s lost or stolen as soon as you can. They will freeze the card and cancel it immediately to prevent additional transactions taking place.
Upon reporting the stolen card, your bank or credit card issuer will carry out a fraud investigation and refund any money lost as part of the process.
In this age of contactless card transactions, it is easy for thieves to make a flurry of smaller transactions immediately after taking your card, so it pays to be vigilant and check your card statements thoroughly for any transactions that you do not recognise, and report these to your card issuer at the earliest opportunity in order to be reimbursed. As a general tip, it’s worth being mindful of the number of cards you are carrying about your person, this will make it easier to identify if one or more has been stolen or lost, and have the key contact details of your bank or credit card issuer to hand should the worst happen and you need to get in touch to report a stolen card.
