As soon as you realize your credit card is lost or stolen, contact the card issuer (banks issue MasterCard and Visa, American Express issues American Express) to report the loss.
Then contact the fraud units of Equifax, Experian and Trans Union and request that a “fraud alert” be placed in your file:
Also ask them for a free copy of your credit report to check for fraudulent accounts opened in your name.
Then call utility companies, Social Security Administration, financial institutions and other lenders to notify them of the fraud. Follow up each conversation with a letter.
Finally, report the theft to law enforcement and insist on receiving a copy of the police report.
