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Don’t Hesitate to Report a Credit Card as Stolen
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While I don’t own a Playstation 3, I have been following the recent news of the Playstation Network being hacked and personal information being stolen, including credit card numbers. One really interesting point that several news organizations have been harping on is whether or not you should cancel your card if you suspect it may have been stolen.
Let me make it simple for everyone – report the card as stolen, cut it up, and get a new card within 7-10 business days.
If you ever suspect your credit card’s security has been compromised, get a new one. It doesn’t hurt your credit score to report a card stolen. The credit card company appreciates it (they’d rather pay for a replacement than pay their fraud department to track down fraudulent payments). The only loser in the whole deal is the thief. It just causes you a minor inconvenience since you won’t have that card until a replacement arrives and you’ll likely have to change your online banking information.
Thieves are very clever nowadays. While there are plenty of stories of small time crooks stealing $500 out of an ATM using your card, more and more sophisticated thieves are billing just a few dollars a month for several years. They don’t kill the golden goose, they simply pick up the shavings every once and a while. You’d notice $500 but would you notice a $19.95 charge every month? Less likely.
Avoid all that by reporting your card as stolen.
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It makes sense, yet it’s pretty scary that thieves are patient enough to shave off a few bucks every month. It’s another case for constant vigilance.
Same thing goes for a lost or stolen debit card… or a bank account that someone has access to that shouldn’t have access anymore. Several years back (I was much more stupid then), I let a certain female have access to my account for what seemed like great reasons at the time. Then, once she was out of the picture, I noticed one little $30 charge I KNOW I didn’t make. That bank account got cancelled that day and a replacement one was opened.