The FTC, also known as the Federal Trade Commission, had more than 2.1 million reports of fraud from consumers in 2020. Banking fraud is one of the most common types of fraud and results in millions of dollars lost each year.
If you are a victim of banking fraud, there are steps that you can take to regain your safety and to prevent future fraud from happening.
Do you want to learn more about what you should do if you are a victim of fraud? Keep reading these 7 steps to take after banking fraud to learn more.
1. Immediately Contact Your Bank
When you have identified fraudulent activity on your bank statements or credit reports, it is vital that you immediately contact your bank. While fraud cases and cybercrime continually increase, only 15% of these crimes are reported.
Reporting fraud to your bank will allow them to take immediate action to protect your account from future transactions. This means that you can be sure that you will not lose any more money.
They can help you cancel your credit cards and give you replacement cards to protect your finances. Your bank will also be able to refund the money that was stolen out of your account.
However, if you wait too long to contact your banking institution, you may not be able to refund the money that was stolen.
2. File Reports & Complaints
Next, it is important that you file reports and complaints.
First, you should report this crime to your local police department. Even if they are not able to help you identify the source of fraud, filing a report is often a necessary step to take if you want to get your money back.
Next, you need to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission. They will get more details about your specific case which may be able to prevent other people from being victims of the same scam.
3. Collect Important Information
If you are the victim of bank fraud, you may need to open a case or file a claim with your insurance agency if you want to get your money back. To make sure you are protected, it is important to collect important information about your case as soon as it happens.
This includes your account number, when you noticed the fraudulent activity on your account, when you reported this activity, and if you filed a report with the FTC or police.
Having this information will make other organizations take your case seriously and may help you get a favourable result.
4. Place a Fraud Alert
Something else that can give you peace of mind after you have been the victim of banking fraud is to place a fraud alert on your accounts. This will not have any impact on your credit score, but it can prevent people from getting credit under your name.
It essentially acts as a red flag for lenders and other creditors and will require extra verification to be sure that it is you that is applying for new credit.
5. Change Your Banking Passwords
Next, you need to change all of your banking passwords. If you have been the victim of a financial scam, you will not know how the criminal got access to your banking information.
For example, they may have stolen the numbers off of your card. Or maybe they hacked into your bank account after you used a public computer to log onto your account.
By getting a new credit card and by changing your passwords for things like your bank account, you can keep people from accessing your account in the future. It is also important to never share your passwords with anyone who should not have permanent access to your bank account.
6. Request a Credit Freeze
Anyone can place a credit freeze on their account, which acts as an extra layer of security. It will prevent people from opening any new credit accounts in your name without authorization.
If you place this alert and someone tries to use your information to open a new account, you will be notified and you may have a better chance of stopping the criminal who has your information.
7. Take Steps to Prevent Future Fraud
Finally, it is vital that you take steps now to prevent credit card fraud from happening in the future. People who are victims of fraud are often targeted more than once, so it is important that you take steps to protect yourself from this.
First, it is important to learn how to practice online banking safety. This includes regularly scanning your bank statements for fraud, avoiding public wifi or computers when using private information, and more.
You also need to understand common types of scams. Recognizing scam techniques can prevent you from being a victim of a banking scam in the future.
Finally, you can use things like anti-virus protection to stay safe from viruses or malware and to keep your private data safe. These types of fraud awareness will keep you safe in the future!
Learn More About Banking Fraud & Protecting Your Finance Today
Banking fraud is a common tactic that results in millions of dollars lost each year.
However, many instances of banking fraud go unreported. If you have been a victim of fraud or identity theft, it is vital that you take these steps to take control of your banking and to prevent fraud from happening again.
By staying up to date on trends in finance and banking, you can be prepared for these situations and can even prevent them from happening.
Do you want to learn more about banking and finance? CFI.co can help! Check out our website for more tips about banking and how you can protect yourself from fraud.
0