How to File a Police Report for Credit Card Theft

To file a police report for credit card theft, call your card issuer first to cancel the card, write down every unauthorized charge with its date, amount, and merchant, file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov, then contact your local police department’s non-emergency line or visit the station in person to submit the report. Bring your ID, the list of fraudulent charges, confirmation that you already notified the issuer, and your FTC report number. Ask for the case number before you leave.

Call Your Card Issuer Before You Call Police

The moment you notice an unauthorized charge or realize the card is gone, call the number on the back of the card or on your issuer’s website. Ask them to cancel the card and send a replacement. Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card charges at $50, and that $50 only covers charges made before you notified the issuer. Anything charged after your call is not your problem.¹

Most cardholders pay nothing. Visa, Mastercard, and other major networks offer zero-liability policies that eliminate even the $50 exposure, provided you report the fraud promptly and weren’t grossly negligent with the card.² And if someone used only your card number — through a data breach, skimming device, or intercepted mail — you owe nothing at all for the unauthorized charges, regardless of when you report.³

Calling the issuer first also gives you a confirmed report time, which the police officer will ask about and the bank will reference during the dispute process.

Document Every Fraudulent Charge

Before you contact police, put the evidence in one place. Pull your recent statements and flag every transaction you didn’t authorize. For each one, write down the date, the dollar amount, and the merchant name. You’ll hand this list to the officer taking your report and use the same list to dispute each charge with the issuer.

Also note when you discovered the fraud, how you think the theft happened (lost wallet, data breach, stolen mail), and whether other accounts or personal information may have been compromised. Save screenshots of suspicious transactions from your banking app and any email alerts about unfamiliar purchases. Organized documentation shortens every step that follows.

File an FTC Identity Theft Report First

Before you head to the police station, file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government’s official recovery portal. The site asks a series of questions about the fraud and generates a personalized recovery plan with pre-filled letters for creditors, debt collectors, and the credit bureaus.⁴

This report matters for a specific legal reason. When you present a completed FTC Identity Theft Report as your affidavit, businesses are required to give you transaction records related to the theft.⁵ Many banks and credit bureaus accept the FTC report in place of a police report, though some still want both. Filing takes about 15 minutes. Save your report number.

File the Police Report

Most law enforcement agencies let you file in person at the station, over the phone through a non-emergency line, or through an online portal. Procedures vary. Some departments require in-person visits for financial crimes while others handle everything digitally. If you’re unsure, call the non-emergency line first and ask which method they use for credit card fraud.

When you file, the officer or dispatcher will ask for:

Your full name, address, date of birth, and contact information
When and how you learned about the theft
Whether the physical card was stolen, only the card number, or both
The list of unauthorized charges with dates, amounts, and merchant names
Confirmation that you’ve already reported the theft to your card issuer
Your FTC report number from IdentityTheft.gov

Be specific. Exact dates and dollar amounts make the report far more useful than vague descriptions.

Before you leave or hang up, get the police report number, sometimes called a case number. You’ll need it for disputes with your bank, fraud alerts with the credit bureaus, and any insurance claims. Ask for a copy of the report itself. Some departments provide it immediately; others make you pick it up later or request it by mail. Administrative fees for a certified copy are generally small.

If Police Won’t Take the Report

This happens more often than people expect. Some departments deprioritize credit card fraud, especially when the amounts are small or the thief operated in another jurisdiction. If a dispatcher tells you they can’t or won’t take a report, you have options.

Go to the station in person. Phone dispatchers sometimes turn away reports that desk officers will accept.
Ask for an “identity theft incident report.” Framing the request this way can change how the department handles it.
Document the refusal. Write down who you spoke with, when, and what they said. This record matters if a creditor later insists on a police report you couldn’t obtain.
Rely on your FTC report. The identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov carries legal weight on its own and satisfies most institutions’ documentation requirements.⁵

The FTC report won’t replace a police report in every situation. Certain extended fraud alert requests and insurance claims may still require one. But it gives you a credible official document while you keep working on the police report.

Use the Report to Dispute the Charges

With your police report and FTC report in hand, formally dispute each unauthorized charge with your card issuer. Most issuers have a dedicated fraud department reachable through the number on your statement. Follow up any phone call with a written dispute sent to the billing inquiry address on the statement. Include copies, not originals, of your police report, FTC identity theft report, and the list of unauthorized transactions.

Timing matters. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days from the date the statement containing the unauthorized charge was mailed to send a written dispute. The issuer must then investigate and resolve it. Missing that window can weaken your legal footing even though the underlying liability cap still applies.¹

Use the Report for Fraud Alerts and a Credit Freeze

Getting your money back is only half the job. If the thief has enough personal information to use your credit card, they may have enough to open new accounts in your name. A police report or FTC identity theft report unlocks two tools to prevent that.

Extended Fraud Alerts

An initial fraud alert lasts one year and tells creditors to verify your identity before extending new credit. You only need to contact one of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — and that bureau is legally required to notify the other two.⁶

With a police report or FTC identity theft report, you qualify for an extended fraud alert that lasts seven years. The extended alert also removes you from prescreened credit offer mailing lists for five years. Both types of alerts are free.⁷

Credit Freezes

A credit freeze is stronger. Instead of flagging your file with a warning, it blocks the credit bureaus from releasing your report entirely, so no creditor can open a new account in your name. Placing and lifting a freeze is free under federal law, and online or phone freezes must take effect within one business day. You can temporarily lift a freeze in as little as one hour when you need to apply for legitimate credit. Unlike fraud alerts, you have to contact each bureau separately to place a freeze.⁷

A Note if a Debit Card Was Also Stolen

The steps above apply to credit cards. If a debit card was taken as well, the law is different and the clock runs faster. Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, your liability rises the longer you wait to report: up to $50 if you report within two business days, up to $500 if you report after that but within 60 days of your statement, and potentially unlimited after 60 days.⁸³ The same police report covers both cards, but report the debit card theft to your bank first.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
2
Visa. Visa Zero Liability Policy
3
Federal Trade Commission. Lost or Stolen Credit, ATM, and Debit Cards
4
Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft
5
Federal Trade Commission. Businesses Must Provide Victims and Law Enforcement With Transaction Records Relating to Identity Theft
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
7
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability