How Long Do You Have to Report Credit Card Fraud?

Under federal law, you have 60 days from the date your billing statement was sent to report credit card fraud in writing to your card issuer. That is the deadline the Fair Credit Billing Act sets for preserving your formal dispute rights.¹ Call the issuer the moment you spot the charge so the card can be frozen, then follow up with the written notice inside the 60-day window.

When the 60-Day Clock Starts

The countdown begins on the date the statement containing the unauthorized charge is transmitted, not when you open it or log in to see it. If mail sits unopened for three weeks, those three weeks still count. Checking your statements as they arrive, on paper or in the app, is what keeps the deadline from expiring behind your back.

The 60-day rule applies to each billing statement separately. A fraudulent charge that first appears on your July statement has its own 60-day window tied to that statement’s date, even if the same thief hit the card again in August.

What the Written Notice Must Include

Federal law requires the dispute to be in writing and to reach the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries, which is usually not the same as the payment address.¹ Sending it to the wrong place can mean the issuer is not treated as having received it under the statute. The billing inquiry address is printed on the statement itself and posted on the issuer’s website.

Your notice needs your name and account number, the charge you’re disputing (date, merchant, and amount), and a short statement of why you believe it’s unauthorized. Send it by certified mail with return receipt so you have proof of the mailing date and delivery date, and keep a copy of everything you send. Many issuers also offer an online dispute form through their banking portal; filing there adds an electronic timestamp to your paper trail.

What Happens If You Miss the 60 Days

Missing the window doesn’t automatically mean you owe the charge, but it costs you the federal dispute process. Inside 60 days, the issuer is legally required to acknowledge your dispute, investigate on a fixed timeline, and stop collection activity while it looks into the claim. Past 60 days, you’re relying on the issuer’s discretion, which is a far weaker position. You can still call and ask them to reverse the charge, and many will, but you’ve lost the leverage the statute gives you.

What You Actually Owe for an Unauthorized Charge

Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card use at $50, and only when someone used your physical card. Report the card missing before any fraudulent charges post and you owe nothing. Outside the narrow conditions the statute lists, a cardholder has zero liability for unauthorized use.²

When only the card number was stolen and the physical card stayed with you, federal law generally imposes no liability at all. That covers most modern fraud, since data breaches, skimmers, and phishing don’t require the thief to ever touch your card. On top of the federal floor, Visa, Mastercard, and most other networks apply their own zero-liability policies that waive even the $50. The practical result is that most credit card fraud victims pay nothing.

Report It: Phone First, Then Writing

Call the fraud number on the back of the card as soon as you notice the charge. This freezes the account so nothing else can post, and the representative will usually cancel the card and issue a replacement with a new number. Most issuers also let you freeze the card instantly through the mobile app if you’d rather not wait on hold.

The phone call protects you practically. The written notice is what protects you legally. Even when the phone rep resolves everything on the spot, the written dispute inside 60 days locks in your federal rights so the issuer can’t quietly reverse course later.³ Do both.

What the Issuer Must Do After You Dispute

Once your written notice arrives, the creditor has 30 days to send you a written acknowledgment. It then has two complete billing cycles, and no more than 90 days total, to investigate and either correct the charge or explain in writing why it believes the bill is accurate.⁴

While the investigation is open, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount, cannot charge interest on it, and cannot close or restrict your account for not paying it. You still owe the undisputed portion of the balance, and paying that on time keeps your credit standing intact while the fraud claim runs its course.

Federal law also bars the issuer from reporting the disputed amount as delinquent to the credit bureaus during the investigation. If it does report the account, it must flag the amount as disputed and tell you which bureaus it contacted.⁵

If the Issuer Denies Your Claim

If the investigation concludes the charge was legitimate, the issuer must explain the finding in writing and tell you what you owe.³ You can escalate by filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or by calling (855) 411-2372. The CFPB forwards the complaint to the company, which is required to respond.⁶

A denial isn’t always the end of it. If the issuer didn’t acknowledge your dispute within 30 days, didn’t resolve it inside the required timeframe, or tried to collect while the investigation was still open, those procedural failures are worth flagging in your complaint. How the issuer handled the process can matter as much as the underlying fraud question.

Debit Cards Are Not the Same

If the fraud is on a debit card, the deadline you just read does not apply. Debit cards fall under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which sets a much harsher schedule: liability is capped at $50 if you report within two business days, jumps to $500 after that but within 60 days of the statement, and becomes unlimited for transfers that occur after the 60-day mark.⁷⁸ A credit card holder who waits 90 days still owes at most $50; a debit card holder who waits the same 90 days could lose everything the thief drained after day 60. On a debit card, every hour counts.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute a Charge on My Credit Card Bill
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. href=”https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:1666%20edition:prelim)” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>15 US Code 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So, How Do I Submit a Complaint
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability
8
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers