How to Spot and Dispute Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
Review your statements regularly and use automated alerts to stay on top of transactions. If you spot an issue, call your issuer and leave a paper trail.
Many or all of the products on this page are from partners who compensate us when you click to or take an action on their website, but this does not influence our evaluations or ratings. Our opinions are our own.
If someone gets their hands on your credit card information and uses it to run up fraudulent charges, the evidence is usually easy to spot: Log into your account online or check your card issuer's app, and the charges will be right there.
The problem? Many people don't monitor their accounts very closely. They may pay the bill each month, but they do so without reviewing their statement to make sure every charge on it is legitimate. If you're not in the habit of checking your credit card accounts, it may be a while before you notice anything is amiss — if you ever do.
In most cases, you won't be held financially responsible for credit card fraud if you spot it and report it in a timely manner. Here's how to detect such charges quickly and dispute them efficiently for a resolution.
How to detect credit card fraud
The best way to detect credit card fraud is to stay on top of your account. Review your statement every month for unauthorized transactions. Checking your account periodically online can alert you to suspicious activity even faster, catching fraudulent purchases while they're still pending.
You can also make it easy on yourself by setting up credit card alerts for every card in your wallet, via your card issuer's mobile app or website.
When you do, you can generally elect to be notified by text or email for a variety of transactions, including:
“Card not present” transactions, such as online purchases.
Transactions that exceed a designated amount.
All transactions.
Such alerts can help you more easily spot suspicious activity and minimize the potential of accidentally glossing over a charge on your credit card statement.
How to distinguish between fraud and simple error
Once you detect an unauthorized transaction, determine whether it's fraud or a billing error. Sometimes it's just a simple mistake.
If, say, you're accidentally double-charged by a store for a single purchase, you might be able to resolve the issue quickly by taking it up with that merchant first. For charges that you don't recognize, try Googling the name of the merchant on your credit card statement to see whether it's a business that you did actually patronize but that processes transactions under a different name. (For example, you might use your card at a restaurant, but the statement shows a parent company that owns it and other restaurants.) If you share the account with joint cardholders or authorized users, ask them whether they made the transaction in question.
Once you go through these steps and determine that a transaction is fraudulent, report it to your credit card issuer.
Don't panic if you stumble upon fraud on your credit card statement. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you're not responsible for unauthorized charges made on the internet. For other fraudulent transactions, federal law limits your liability to $50 as long as you report them to your credit card issuer. On top of this, most major credit card issuers offer zero-liability fraud policies, so you likely won't owe any amount at all.
How to report credit card fraud
Calling your card issuer is the first step to alert the bank to any fraud that's taken place on your account. In many cases, it may be possible to resolve the matter quickly that way.
Document the conversation in writing to further protect yourself from liability. Let your credit card issuer know over the phone that you’ll be following up with a letter. By communicating with your card issuer in writing, you’ll have proof that you did your part to quickly report unauthorized charges.
If the thought of writing a letter is intimidating, consider using the Federal Trade Commission's sample letter as a starting point and tailoring it to fit your own case.
The letter should be sent to the address for billing inquiries, not the address that receives payments by mail. It should include your name, your account number and a description of the unauthorized transaction. Also, it helps to enclose copies of any documents that may support your claim. Feel free to include any next steps or updates previously discussed over the phone with your issuer. And keep a copy of everything you’re mailing for your own records.
Send the letter so that it reaches your credit card issuer within 60 days from when the bill containing the questionable charge was mailed to you. You can track the letter by sending it via certified mail and ask for a return receipt for confirmation that the card issuer received it.
Unless the matter is resolved, your credit card issuer has to confirm that it received your letter in writing within 30 days of receiving it.
What to expect from the credit card fraud investigation
Your card issuer will want to prevent further unauthorized charges on your account, so it may decide to freeze or cancel your credit card and send a replacement. If you get a new credit card number, you may need to change it wherever you have it stored as a payment for goods and services.
While the investigation is pending, you’re not required to pay the disputed amount. Credit card issuers can't take legal action or send your bill to collections while the amount in question is investigated. You will, however, be required to pay the portion of your bill that belongs to you.
By law, the dispute must be resolved within two billing cycles (no more than 90 days) after receiving your letter. The issuer must notify you in writing about its findings and next steps.
If the issuer determines that a transaction is fraudulent, it must credit your account for the amount disputed and remove any charges resulting from the transaction. If the issuer determines the transaction is correct, you’re responsible for paying the disputed amount and any charges resulting from it.
Find the right credit card for you.
Whether you want to pay less interest or earn more rewards, the right card's out there. Just answer a few questions and we'll narrow the search for you.