Having a credit card is a big responsibility, and you need to be diligent in paying your monthly bills or it could result in lifelong credit problems. However if the bill you have to pay is full of purchases that aren't yours, you need to take action immediately so as not to be responsible for someone else's damage. This is why reporting credit card fraud and knowing the steps to take are so important. Unauthorized credit card charges are the first sign of fraud or identity theft, and to avoid having to pay them, you need to contact your creditor immediately.

Usually a card issuer will supply a toll free number to call and you can use it 24 hours a day for emergency services. Once you make the call, you will have given yourself full protection over any other fraudulent behavior or charges to your card that might occur. If you believe there are already purchases on your card that you didn't make, you may have to sign a sworn document under oath claiming that these are fraudulent charges. If these charges are more than $2000, you should report them to the Federal Trade Commission or to the police.

The same procedure goes if you have lost a credit card or you think it may have been stolen. Once you call the credit card company, you have no more obligations. Even by law if your card is stolen or lost and continues to be used, you are not obliged for anything more than $50. In order to make sure you have credit card protection, you should make use of the free credit report that you are entitled to request annually. This will show all activity on your card and perhaps alert you of a problem before you have to wait for a bill. Although many of these are considered standard among credit cards, you still need to verify the security features available when going over your credit cards comparison.

Reporting credit card fraud is important to not only catch the perpetrator but also to protect yourself from additional charges. You are responsible for your credit, so make sure to know the steps to take if something should happen to it.