Your Rights and Responsibilities: Credit cards

Credit card fraud

Certain types of protection may apply to you in the case of credit card fraud. By law, your credit card agreement must explain your maximum liability (no more than $50) in the case of a lost or stolen credit card, or the unauthorized use of your credit card number.

Fraud protection

Visa, MasterCard and American Express cardholders also provide protection beyond the maximum liability indicated in their credit card agreements. This is done through a public commitment that Visa and MasterCard call the "zero-liability policy". American Express has also made a public commitment through its Fraud Protection Guarantee. If your credit card is lost or stolen, or if someone uses your credit card number to make transactions you didn't authorize, you can usually be reimbursed.

These policies apply to transactions made on the Internet, by phone or at a retailer. However, they may not cover you in the case of fraud involving personal identification number (PIN)-based transactions — for example, a cash advance received with your card at an automated banking machine (ABM). They might also exclude transactions made with convenience cheques or with corporate credit cards.

Check with your credit card issuer whether they have a fraud protection policy, and how you can be protected. This type of policy is not usually listed in a credit card agreement, since it is a public commitment — not a legal requirement. For more detail on the credit card companies' policies, see the following credit card company Web sites.

• American Express
  
  
• MasterCard
  
  
• Visa
  

E-Promise

Visa has also made a commitment, through its voluntary "E-Promise" code, to help cardholders resolve difficulties with on-line, phone-order or mail-order merchants. If Visa cardholders have tried unsuccessfully to resolve a dispute with an on-line, phone-order or mail-order merchant, they can contact their VISA card issuer directly to get the credit card charge in question resolved. VISA cardholders can request that their issuer cancel or reverse a charge in the following situations if the merchant has not refunded the cardholder:

• when the cardholder has lawfully cancelled the cardholder's agreement with an on-line, phone-order or mail-order merchant, or
  
  
• when the purchased item has not been received, or the item is different from what was ordered.
  

More information on E-Promise can be found on Visa's Web site.

If you find unauthorized transactions on your account

If you find unauthorized transactions on your credit card account, here are some steps you can take to find out whether you can be reimbursed:

Contact your credit card issuer immediately and report the unauthorized transactions. Record the name of the person you spoke to, as well as the date and time of your call. File a report with the local police. They will give you a report number that you should keep, since your credit card company may ask for this number.

Check your credit card agreement to verify your liability limit.

Find out if your credit card issuer has a fraud protection policy regarding unauthorized credit card transactions.