Due to the increasing instances of identity theft, more and more consumers are realizing the importance of monitoring their financial accounts. You should always be careful about sharing your personal information with others. If you have been a victim of identity theft, you need to take actions immediately.
Take these steps after hackers steal your credit card information.
Inform the company
If you suspect any suspicious activity on your account, you need to immediately call the credit card issuer to report the same. The company will work with you and help you track down any fraudulent activity in addition to monitoring the account.
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Inform the credit bureaus
The next step is to inform the credit bureau that your credit card information has been stolen. If you do not take this step on time, your credit score could be in trouble. You need to call the credit card agency and report the situation to put an alert on your credit account.
Report to the Federal Trade Commission
You need to submit a report to the Federal Trade Commission by filing an Identity Theft Affidavit. This can be done by filing a police report and submitting the same with the Affidavit to the FTC.
Change your personal information on websites
You will now have to take all the steps necessary to ensure that your credit card information is not compromised again. If you have linked the credit card to any retail stores, you will need to go through each account and delete the information. It is advised to make purchases by manually entering credit card information.
Use a credit monitoring service
A credit monitoring service will track all your credit reports and keep you updated about any suspicious activities on your account. Sign up with a reliable company to get peace of mind after a compromised account.
Contact the bank
Inform your bank that your credit card information has been compromised. This will ensure that the bank is vigilant about your account and will immediately inform you in case of any suspicious activity.
The moment you get to know about hackers stealing your information, you need to take these six steps at the earliest. Keep in mind that there could be more damage than using your money. Your information can be used for other accounts as well, or new accounts could be set up with your personal information.
If you have been issued a new credit card, keep a different password from the one you had earlier and change all your login credentials. In case there are any problems related to your card, inform the credit agencies immediately. Any compromise of credit card information can have a negative impact on your credit score. It is important to keep all the personal information and credentials confidential. Do not share any of this information with any retailers, online or offline. Do not save your credit card details anywhere that is easily accessible and make sure that you store them in a secure place.
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