Debit cards are a bit different. In order to limit your liability if your card was physically lost or stolen, you need to report the loss quickly. Your liability stands at $ 50 for the first two days after the discovery of fraud, and then jumps to $ 500 between the two-day and 60-day mark. Beyond that, you might be accountable for all charges. If your physical card wasn ' t taken, however, there ' s more leniency; as long as you report the fraudulent use within 60 days, you won ' t be liable for a cent.
In some cases, thieves aren ' t even able to use the card in the first place. Many card issuers automatically detect suspicious activity and put a block on the card to prevent any future charges. Some companies will even call cardholders to alert them to the attempted use.
Recovering from identity theft
Recovering from full-blown identity theft, in which fraudulent accounts are opened or fraudulent documents are issued in your name, can take years. This type of fraud can be complex and far-reaching, involving multiple avenues of misuse— some of which may go undiscovered until a collection agency attempts to collect a debt that you weren ' t even aware existed. It wreaks havoc on credit scores and sometimes places extraordinary stress on victims and their families.
Not all of the effects of identity theft are as easy to quantify or resolve, however. For instance, identity-theft victims often suffer serious emotional consequences, though that element of recovery is rarely discussed. But imagine losing your dream home because you couldn ' t get a mortgage, due to years '-old identity theft of which you weren ' t aware.
A full 36 percent of victims report suffering moderate to severe emotional distress as a result of identity theft. A recent Equifax report detailed the psychological toll identity theft can take on its victims, noting that many of these individuals experience emotional effects similar to those experienced by victims of assault or home invasion.
If you ' ve been the victim of identity theft, immediately consult the federal government ' s online resources for ID-theft management. With just a few clicks, you can report fraud and build a custom recovery plan to handle your situation. Once that ' s in place, consider consulting with a therapist or psychologist to help manage the emotional fallout.
Avoiding identity theft
If you ' ve never been a victim of identity theft, count your blessings. The good news is that minimizing your risk of identity theft is easier that it may seem. Here are a few tips:
1. Shred sensitive documents before throwing them away. Anything that has personal or financial information— canceled checks, credit-card statements, even junk mail from a bank or credit-card company— is a potential gold mine to an identity thief. When shopping for a good shredder, look for a model that crosscuts the paper into tiny pieces, rather than just into strips that can be pasted back together.
2. Erase computer and smartphone hard drives. Clean out your personal information before getting rid of old PCs, tablets and smartphones. It is surprisingly easy for someone to get access to personal data if the hard drive hasn ' t been totally reformatted and cleaned.
3. Use antivirus software on your computer. Antivirus software will stop most attacks, as long as you let it update every day. Also, don ' t download anything that you don ' t trust completely.
4. Check your credit reports regularly for discrepancies. You can get up to three credit reports free every year. Reading them can help you head off any potential issues before they become too big.
5. Don ' t give out personal information over email. You don’ t trust everyone you meet on the street, so why would you trust people who email you out of the blue? A reputable company won ' t email you to solicit personal information, so if you ' re seeing messages asking for your Social Security number, it ' s likely a ploy.