Lost or Stolen Card

Report the loss or theft of your card as quickly as possible. Ideal CU has a 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies. Be sure indicate when you noticed your card was missing, and the date you first reported the loss (if any).

Review Our Lost or Stolen Wallet Checklist

Your maximum liability under federal law for unauthorized use of your credit card is $50. If you report the loss before your credit cards are used, federal regulation says the card issuer cannot hold you responsible for any unauthorized charges. If a thief uses your cards before you report them missing, the most you will owe for unauthorized charges is $50 per card. Also, if the loss involves your credit card number, but not the card itself, you have no liability for unauthorized use.

Review Our Lost or Stolen Wallet Checklist

After the loss, review your Ideal CU credit card or checking account statements carefully. If they show any unauthorized charges, document each questionable charge and contact Ideal CU right away.

The best protections against card fraud are to know where your cards are at all times and to keep them secure. For protection of your Ideal Credit Union debit and Visa Credit cards that involve a Personal Identification Number (PIN), keep your PIN a secret. Don't use your address, birth date, phone or Social Security number as the PIN and do memorize the number.

• Be cautious about disclosing your account number over the phone unless you know you're dealing with a reputable company.
• Never put your account number on the outside of an envelope or on a postcard.
• Draw a line through blank spaces on charge or debit slips above the total so the amount cannot be changed.
• Save your receipts to check against your monthly statements.
• Cut up old cards - cutting through the account number - before disposing of them.
• Open monthly statements promptly and compare them with your receipts. Report mistakes or discrepancies as soon as possible. Ideal CU will investigate errors reported to them within 60 days of the date your statement was mailed to you.
• Carry only those cards that you anticipate you'll need.

Tip: Plug the numbers from your credit and debit cards into your phone. When the cards are lost or stolen the number on the back of the card doesn't do much good.