Rather recently, I received some disturbing news: The PlayStation Network had been compromised. I have a credit card stored on PSN, so I was immediately concerned about what could happen to my credit card number. I figured that I would need to be on the look out for fraudulent charges. But then, after some thought, I decided that I didn’t want to wait for someone to use my card. Here’s what to do if you need a replacement credit card:
1. Call Your Credit Card Issuer
The very first thing to do is call your credit card issuer. Whether you lost your credit card, notice unauthorized charges on your account, or are otherwise concerned that your identity has been stolen, you can make that call. I called my credit card issuer, and the customer service rep said that if I wanted to play it safe, we could replace the card, and get a new number. The bank knew about the PSN situation, and was willing to head off potential problems.
Your replacement card will likely take 7 to 10 days to arrive. If you want it sooner, you might need to pay a fee to have it sent to you the next business day. For most people, though, waiting isn’t a problem. Having a back up credit card can be useful if you are worried about immediate access to credit.
2. Make Sure Your Auto-Pay Accounts are Updated
Next, you want to make sure your auto-pay accounts have the new number. Once you order a replacement card, your old number won’t work. If you don’t update, your auto-pay won’t go through, and you could incur additional charges and an interruption in service. This is why it is important to make sure you know which accounts are associated with which bills.
3. Double Check the New Account
Now that you have a new account number, you will need to make sure everything has transferred appropriately. Make sure the charges and payments have been properly recorded in the new account. You might also want to check for unauthorized charges. If everything is in order, you should be in good shape.
Taking Care of Problems Quickly
One of the best things you can do to make sure these problems are taken care of quickly is to keep a list of your credit card issuers, account numbers and customer service phone numbers clearly written somewhere safe. You can make it quick and easy by photocopying both sides of your credit cards. Or, you can simply write the information and store it somewhere. This list should be kept someplace safe, where you can get to it in an emergency. This list can provide you with an instant reference. That way, if you your card is lost, you still have the information you need to get it canceled by the issuer, and report your identity stolen.
It is vital that you take care of problems as soon as you become aware of them. You have limited liability as long as you take care of issues in a timely manner. With online access to your financial accounts, there is no reason that you cannot check your accounts regularly to make sure that nothing unusual is going on.
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One of my credit cards (Citi) offers virtual card numbers that you can set to expire whenever you like – it’s not something that I ever bothered to take advantage of before, but I’m now shifting my processes around with the intention from now on to ONLY use virtual numbers, so that I don’t have to cancel my card. I was lucky in the PSN debacle – the card number I had on file with them had been canceled, and I hadn’t gotten around to updating my profile.
My college daughter recently lost her credit card and called the card issuer. They did issue a new card just to be on the safe side although she had no indication that her card had been compromised. What we didn’t know was that Lost/Stolen cards are reported to the credit agencies, it is currently showing up on two of the three. We are assuming that this is a safety precaution meant for her protection, however it is a bit unnerving to have notices placed on your credit report. We hope it doesn’t end up as a negative, so far her credit report is shaping up nicely for someone her age.
Thanks for this article. Because of the PSN hack i was doubting about changing my creditcard to another company, just to be sure. This is really helpful.