Your credit score will not drop due to a misplaced credit card. It will shorten your credit history overall, though. A lower score may result from that. Your chances of missing a payment increase if you procrastinate switching your recurring charges to your new card. As a result, your credit rating would suffer as well.
You jeopardize your money when your credit card is lost, stolen, or compromised. Forged or stolen credit cards can be used to make unauthorized purchases. However, they can also use that data to create new accounts in your name at other financial institutions or to get access to cash already in those accounts.
The loss of a credit card is an occurrence that affects even the most careful among us. You won't be responsible for any purchases made without your permission and can receive a new card promptly if you immediately report the loss or theft to your card issuer.
To avoid legal repercussions, you should immediately report your lost card and wait for the issuer to cancel your card before you pay for any transactions made after the report.
What Happens To Your Credit Score If Your Credit Card Is Lost Or Stolen?
The terrible sensation you get when you lose your credit card is only made worse if you aren't aware of what might happen to your credit score due to your card being lost. If you have misplaced or lost your credit card, it will not affect your credit score. Similarly, simple forgetfulness will not be considered.
However, how you handle the loss of your credit card might affect your credit score. It is standard practice for credit card companies to cancel a lost or stolen card account and move the customer's financial data to a new account number.
In this way, everything that has ever happened with your credit card account will remain intact, whether good or negative. You will unlikely lose it if you have a prolonged record of making payments on time. However, if you have a history of late payments or worse, losing your card won't be enough to erase that.
What Should You Do If Your Credit Card Is Lost Or Stolen?
Lock Your Missing Credit Card
As soon as you learn your credit card is gone, it would help if you took the necessary precautions to prevent further charges to the card. Perhaps you lost it and didn't realize it, but it might have been taken from you, too. You can buy time by locking your credit card and thinking it over.
Locking your credit card is a feature offered by many companies nowadays and can be done from the convenience of your smartphone or computer. A credit card lock functions similarly to the stop button on a television remote, instructing the card issuer to halt future charges until the card is unlocked.
Consequently, shoplifters won't be able to pull off any fraudulent transactions. If you have scheduled automatic bill payments and your card is locked, you may still pay them on time with some issuers. However, it would help if you verified this with your issuer so that you don't miss a payment by accident.
Track Your Card And Examine It For Fraudulent Charges
Sadly, a credit card that has been misplaced most likely does not include a tracking signal that can direct you to its precise position. However, if you go back through your previous actions, you should be able to locate them.
It's conceivable that you forgot it in the store or the restaurant where you were eating. Whether you check your recent transactions, you can see the location of your most recent purchase.
It will allow you to phone the location and inquire if someone may have discovered your card. On the other hand, if you find that your credit card has been used for transactions you are unfamiliar with, you need to contact the card's issuer as soon as possible.
Contact The Card's Issuer
You need to contact the card's issuer as soon as possible if you can't find your lost credit card and want to keep using the card. Make an emergency call to the company that issued your credit card so that you may report its loss or theft.
In most cases, the telephone number you need to contact may be printed on the back of the card. You cannot do that when your card has been lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised. Try not to freak out.
You may locate the phone number for your credit card issuer either on the statement that comes with your credit card or online. You may be able to report your loss by visiting a bank office or making a complaint on the website of the card issuer.
Submit A Report To The Police
If you know that your card was taken, report the theft to the authorities. It is an important precaution to take if your driver's license or another form of official identification is also taken since doing so will greatly boost your protection against being a victim of identity theft.
To submit a report, you can either call the police or physically visit the station. It would help if you told them when and where the theft occurred and a list of the stolen goods.
Conclusion:
Your credit score shouldn't take a hit from the time it takes to report a missing card and acquire a new card. Instead of canceling your account, most credit card issuers will transfer your account information to the new card instead of canceling your account.
If you've recently been granted a new number, don't worry—your previous account details have been integrated with the new one. Since you are not canceling and creating an account, your credit score will not drop due to this procedure. However, you should always report a missing card to prevent being held accountable for fraudulent purchases or missed payments.
