You must register a credit card fraud alert if your credit card has been lost or stolen. To begin, contact your credit card company and request that your card be terminated. They will send you a new card as well as the appropriate documents for reporting a fraud alert.

Fill out the forms as soon as possible and submit them on time. The longer you wait, the more serious the problem will get. As I before stated, whether the card was lost or stolen, the outcome can be the same. If you misplaced your card and it is discovered, it can be used, putting you in a lot of difficulties and making your life a living nightmare until you have everything cleared up. You’ll have the same issue if it was stolen. As possible, report the loss or theft and file a credit card fraud alert. You’ll be happy you did.

Remember that you only need to notify one of the credit bureaus; the one to which you report will contact the other two on your behalf. When you file a fraud alert with the credit bureaus, your creditor will be notified that you may be a victim of identity theft. If someone tries to gain more credit after that, the credit bureau should call you to verify that it is you, not the identity thief, who is asking.

An Extended Fraud Notice is another sort of fraud alert that lasts seven years. An extended fraud warning is the same as a 90-day fraud notice, except you must submit an identity theft complaint with the credit bureaus. The police report will come in handy here since you’ll need a copy of it to file with the credit bureau form.

At the start of the year, I had a fright. My check stubs had ceased arriving in the mail, and I had yet to receive my W-2 tax forms. When I inquired about it at my job’s main office, they provided me with the login information for accessing my check stubs online. That’s when I realized the address on my check stubs was inaccurate, and they were going to a different state. In case anything came of it, I filed a police report. To my relief, nothing worked.

While this was not a credit card, if your credit card is lost or stolen, it is vital to register a credit card fraud alert.