What to do if you find unauthorized payments on your credit card

When using a credit card, it is advisable to be aware of the charges made to you to verify that they are correct and protect it to prevent theft. When you review it, it is most likely that you remember all of them and recognize the amounts and places of purchases, but it may also be the case that you find some expense that you do not remember having made and, then, all the alarms go off, because You have been charged without authorizing it.

The first thing you need to know if you think your card has been used fraudulently is that there is a solution. The Bank of Spain explains what is the procedure to take action on the matter. The first step is to notify the issuing entity of the account in which you have been charged. It is recommended to do it as soon as possible to prevent the alleged fraud from escalating and additional charges appearing, but in any case the term to claim is 13 months from the date of collection.

When you go to make the claim, you will have to fill out an unrecognized charge form with details of the date, the amount and the name from where the charge was made. In some cases, a police report may also be requested.

Once you complete this process, the entity will be in charge of any unauthorized operations that may come to you later. If it happens after having reported the problem, the bank is the one who has the obligation to respond and return the amount of the unauthorized charges at the end of the business day following the communication made, explains the Bank of Spain.

There is an exception to this obligation of the banks: if it is considered that the charges derive from a fraudulent action of the holder or gross negligence. Above all, it happens in matters related to the proper use of the card or the protection of security elements. It usually happens in the charges made by cybercriminals after the holder has fallen into a fraud and has delivered the card keys.