A Better Way to Manage Your Everyday Money - Book - Page 98
Our other credit cards, which we use for specific purposes, also have rewards, but the amount we
get back is not much. And getting the money is not as simple as with the Amazon and Costco
cards. I sign into each credit card’s website and apply the rewards toward the next statement. I
then enter the rewards in PerNetFlow as a refund. Since the rewards are small, I don’t bother
with them very often.
Fraud
Credit cards are exceptionally vulnerable
to being used without your knowledge.
You do not have to pay for unauthorized
use of your credit card as long as you
identify the fraudulent charges and
dispute those charges within 60 days after
the date of the statement on which the
bogus charges first appear. Protecting
yourself from credit card fraud requires
that you pay attention to the details.
Actions you can take to protect yourself
from fraudulent use of your credit cards
include:
● Keeping a record of all credit card charges that you make or authorize.
● Reconciling credit card statements each month shortly after receipt.
● Immediately disputing any fraudulent charges on a statement following the instructions
printed on the back of the statement.
When a credit card company receives a dispute via letter, they are required to investigate. While
the investigation is being conducted, you are not required to pay the disputed charges, nor can
the credit card company charge interest on those charges. If the investigation shows the disputed
charges are fraudulent, the charges are deleted from your account.
You can dispute charges online with most credit cards, however, by not sending a letter the credit
card company is not obligated to respond.
If you fail to dispute charges within 60 days after the date of the statement on which the bogus
charges first appear, you are responsible for paying those fraudulent charges.
Lois and I have experienced credit card fraud four times. In one case a relative convinced a credit
card company to issue him one of our cards. He used the card for a vacation in Hawaii. The total
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