I just read an article about a man who left his wallet and some other stuff in his car while at dinner. Thieves stole his stuff and used his credit cards to charge $2,500 before he even knew.
The main lesson is to not leave valuables in the car.
I would hope that the credit card company did not charge the man with the $2,500 of fraudulent purchases, but the article seems to imply that he had to pay it.
I would recommend being very careful about taking out credit cards with high limits unless the company has policies to not charge you for fraudulent use. Check the paperwork carefully, and do not trust credit card company slogans that say you are generally protected from fraudulent charges. With credit cards, thieves can steal more money than you have. They will not just leave you with nothing; they will leave you in debt.
I do not own any credit cards, so that neither I nor thieves can spend more money than I have.
What do you think?
Wednesday, November 21st 2007 at 10:12 am
Under Federal law, your liability on unauthorized purchases on your credit card is limited to $50 provided you report the loss to the card company. If you report the loss before it is used, your liability is $0.
There are similar laws for debit cards but the time you have to report losses varies with how the card was used. You have longer to report charges made online, those that don’t require physical custody of the card.
I know someone who had a purse stolen from a parked vehicle and the thieves had been to two different stores and charged up over $1800 before she was able to contact anyone.
Definitely, no one should leave a purse, wallet or credit cards in a car. Keep them on your person or leave them home.