An SMS came that the money was debited from the card, but you did not buy anything, did not make transfers and did not withdraw cash. Probably, your card or its data got to scammers. What to do and can the stolen goods be returned?
In short, you need to: immediately block the card, inform the bank on the hotline about the theft of money and write a statement at the bank's branch about disagreement with the operation. All this must be done no later than the next day after the bank has notified you of the operation that you did not perform.
If you followed the rules for using the card, in particular, did not store the PIN code with the card and did not disclose its details to anyone, then there is a great chance of returning the stolen money.
Now let's take a look at what needs to be done step by step.
1. Block card
To cut off access to the remaining money on the card for fraudsters, it must be immediately blocked. This can be done in different ways:
2. Report theft and issue a refund
By law, the bank is obliged to return the money if you have met two conditions:
But in any case, you will have to go to the bank branch to write a statement of disagreement with the operation with a demand to return the money. Keep a copy of the application with a note that the bank has accepted it.
Since stealing money is a criminal offense, file a report with the police. Perhaps your information will help you find and catch criminals faster.
The bank will conduct an internal investigation. The payment system will also take part in it. If the fraudsters acted on the territory, then, according to the law, an official investigation can last a maximum of 30 days, if the operation was international - 60 days.
Following the investigation, a bank employee will contact you and inform you of the decision. If the bank makes sure that you did not violate the rules for using the card and at the same time protested the operation on time, you will be refunded.
But other scenarios are also possible:
The bank agreed to return the money, but delays the transfer of funds
Banks often indicate the term for the refund in the contract. For example, it could be 30 or 60 days. If during this time the bank has not replenished your account, you can go to court.
If the terms are not specified in the agreement with the bank, then the bank must comply with the requirements of the Civil Code. Article requires all (including banks) to fulfill their obligations "within a reasonable time". You and the bank can understand this "reasonable time" in different ways. But there is a clarification in the code: obligations must be fulfilled within seven days from the moment when you present your claims.
In other words, you can wait a couple of weeks, if during this time the money is not returned, then go to the bank to write an application. In it, with reference to the Civil Code, you need to demand to transfer the stolen amount within up to seven days.
The bank refused to return the money
In this case, the first step is to demand from the bank a written refusal with justification why it does not agree to return the money. If the bank does not issue such a refusal or does, but the justification seems unconvincing to you, you should go to court. If you did not violate the agreement with the bank and informed about the illegal operation on time, most likely the court will decide in your favor and the money will still be returned to you.
What if the bank did not notify me of an illegal transaction? Is it possible in this case to get the money back?
By law, the bank is obliged to notify you of all card transactions. Exactly how he does it is spelled out in your contract. These can be SMS notifications, e-mails, or other methods.
If fraudsters stole money from the card, and your bank did not inform you about the operation, then by law it is obliged to compensate for the loss. Even if you find out that money is stolen from your account not immediately, but a month or a year after it happened.
In this case, you first need to write an application to the bank with a demand to return the illegally debited money. If the bank refuses to list them, then you can go to court.
How to protect money on the card from fraudsters?
Always follow a few basic rules of the cardholder:
Be vigilant, do not step on someone else's rake!
The bank may doubt a payment in another country, especially if the client has not traveled abroad before. Or if suddenly they are trying to write off an unusually large amount from the card. And if from one and the same card there is suddenly a "rolling" transfer to several other cards at once, this is definitely a reason for the bank to stop transactions and temporarily block the card.
The main signs of suspicious transactions were determined by the Bank, and banks have the right to supplement them with their own criteria based on the results of monitoring the behavior of their clients.
If the transaction is among the suspicious, the bank is obliged to immediately contact the client to find out whether he really gave his consent to this payment or transfer.
If the bank does not receive a response within two days, it will unblock the card and carry out the transaction. If the client confirms the operation, then both the payment and the card will be unblocked immediately. Well, if the cardholder informs that he did not make this payment, the bank will cancel the operation and offer to reissue the card.
In short, you need to: immediately block the card, inform the bank on the hotline about the theft of money and write a statement at the bank's branch about disagreement with the operation. All this must be done no later than the next day after the bank has notified you of the operation that you did not perform.
If you followed the rules for using the card, in particular, did not store the PIN code with the card and did not disclose its details to anyone, then there is a great chance of returning the stolen money.
Now let's take a look at what needs to be done step by step.
1. Block card
To cut off access to the remaining money on the card for fraudsters, it must be immediately blocked. This can be done in different ways:
- Through the bank's mobile application. If you have it installed and there is an option to block the card, find the desired card in the application and select the "Block" command.
- Call the hotline. The emergency number is indicated on the back of the card and on the bank's official website. It is better to save this number in the phone in advance so as not to waste time searching. The operator of the technical support service will ask you to name your passport data, a code word or a code from the SMS message that he will send you. After that, the bank employee will block the card.
- Online banking. Go to your personal account on the bank's website, find the "Block card" option and confirm your action with the SMS code.
- By SMS. Some banks allow you to block cards by SMS. Usually, for this you need to send a code word (for example, "blocking") to the bank's short number and, separated by a space, the last four digits of the card number. If you have only one card, you don't have to enter the numbers - the bank will already understand which card it is about. You will receive a code that must be sent back to the bank number to confirm the blocking.
- At the bank branch. If a message about an illegal operation on your card caught you near the bank office and you have your passport with you, then you can not only block the card, but also immediately write an application for a refund.
2. Report theft and issue a refund
By law, the bank is obliged to return the money if you have met two conditions:
- We informed the bank about the theft of money from the card no later than the next day after the bank notified you of a suspicious transaction. Do not have time - the bank has the right to refuse you.
- We did not violate the safety rules when using the card. In particular, we did not share the card details with the fraudsters, did not store the PIN code with the card, did not write the code on the card itself, did not allow anyone to make photocopies or photograph your card. If the bank proves otherwise, it will not return the stolen money to you.
But in any case, you will have to go to the bank branch to write a statement of disagreement with the operation with a demand to return the money. Keep a copy of the application with a note that the bank has accepted it.
Since stealing money is a criminal offense, file a report with the police. Perhaps your information will help you find and catch criminals faster.
The bank will conduct an internal investigation. The payment system will also take part in it. If the fraudsters acted on the territory, then, according to the law, an official investigation can last a maximum of 30 days, if the operation was international - 60 days.
Following the investigation, a bank employee will contact you and inform you of the decision. If the bank makes sure that you did not violate the rules for using the card and at the same time protested the operation on time, you will be refunded.
But other scenarios are also possible:
The bank agreed to return the money, but delays the transfer of funds
Banks often indicate the term for the refund in the contract. For example, it could be 30 or 60 days. If during this time the bank has not replenished your account, you can go to court.
If the terms are not specified in the agreement with the bank, then the bank must comply with the requirements of the Civil Code. Article requires all (including banks) to fulfill their obligations "within a reasonable time". You and the bank can understand this "reasonable time" in different ways. But there is a clarification in the code: obligations must be fulfilled within seven days from the moment when you present your claims.
In other words, you can wait a couple of weeks, if during this time the money is not returned, then go to the bank to write an application. In it, with reference to the Civil Code, you need to demand to transfer the stolen amount within up to seven days.
The bank refused to return the money
In this case, the first step is to demand from the bank a written refusal with justification why it does not agree to return the money. If the bank does not issue such a refusal or does, but the justification seems unconvincing to you, you should go to court. If you did not violate the agreement with the bank and informed about the illegal operation on time, most likely the court will decide in your favor and the money will still be returned to you.
What if the bank did not notify me of an illegal transaction? Is it possible in this case to get the money back?
By law, the bank is obliged to notify you of all card transactions. Exactly how he does it is spelled out in your contract. These can be SMS notifications, e-mails, or other methods.
If fraudsters stole money from the card, and your bank did not inform you about the operation, then by law it is obliged to compensate for the loss. Even if you find out that money is stolen from your account not immediately, but a month or a year after it happened.
In this case, you first need to write an application to the bank with a demand to return the illegally debited money. If the bank refuses to list them, then you can go to court.
How to protect money on the card from fraudsters?
Always follow a few basic rules of the cardholder:
- Monitor account transactions. For example, activate the SMS informing service for all your active cards. Then you will immediately receive notifications about each card transaction. Instead of SMS messages, you can choose push notifications in the bank's mobile application. They are always free and do not clutter up your phone memory. But in this case, it is important to ensure that you always have mobile Internet connected. Otherwise, the push notification can be received with a serious delay and not have time to inform the bank about the theft of money in time.
- Do not give your PIN-code, CVC- / CVV-code (secret code on the back of the card), card expiration date and other information to anyone. For example, if you receive a call "from the bank's technical support service" or "bank manager" says that your card is allegedly blocked, you should not tell them your card details. A real bank employee will never ask you for sensitive information such as a PIN or CVC / CVV code.
Be vigilant, do not step on someone else's rake!
- Don't let salespeople and waiters take the map out of your sight. Always cover the keyboard of the payment terminal or ATM with your hand when entering the password. It is also worth making sure that the surveillance cameras do not see how you dial the PIN.
- Go only to trusted sites and never click on links from letters from unknown "well-wishers".
- Double-check any information about card blocking, transaction refusal or other problems with the card. To do this, call the bank's hotline - and only to it. The emergency telephone number is always indicated on the back of the card and on the bank's official website.
The bank may doubt a payment in another country, especially if the client has not traveled abroad before. Or if suddenly they are trying to write off an unusually large amount from the card. And if from one and the same card there is suddenly a "rolling" transfer to several other cards at once, this is definitely a reason for the bank to stop transactions and temporarily block the card.
The main signs of suspicious transactions were determined by the Bank, and banks have the right to supplement them with their own criteria based on the results of monitoring the behavior of their clients.
If the transaction is among the suspicious, the bank is obliged to immediately contact the client to find out whether he really gave his consent to this payment or transfer.
If the bank does not receive a response within two days, it will unblock the card and carry out the transaction. If the client confirms the operation, then both the payment and the card will be unblocked immediately. Well, if the cardholder informs that he did not make this payment, the bank will cancel the operation and offer to reissue the card.
