Importance of Cardholder Response to Fraud Alerts

With the ever-growing schemes of fraudsters, it is very important for cardholders to watch their accounts and report transactions they did not approve or make.  With TCM Bank’s credit card program, all cards are backed with our Zero Fraud Liability and cardholders receive fraud alerts via phone, email, and text message.

When the TCM fraud team suspects a transaction to be fraudulent, depending on the transaction type and details, an alert is created and delivered. Depending on the rules associated with that type of transaction, the card may even be blocked until confirmation from the cardholder is received.

It is important that when an alert is issued, via phone, email, or text message from the TCM team, that the cardholder promptly responds. Even if the cardholder uses another card to complete the transaction, informing TCM if it was a valid transaction or not allows our analysts to see the cardholder’s spend trends, which may reduce valid declines on future transactions. With each response to an alert, the cardholder becomes like a superhero and helps report and even catch fraudsters, sometimes stopping them in their tracks. By taking the time to respond to alerts, they help prevent that fraudster from committing more crimes and getting away with more goods.

TCM’s bank partners can help fight credit card fraud too! If you receive information from a cardholder about fraud or start seeing fraudulent credit card transactions or trends that TCM needs to know about, please report those to your client relations representative. Bank partners can also help by informing cardholders on the importance of fraud alerts and responding to those. If cardholders ever feel uncomfortable with an alert, whether it’s via phone, email, or text message, please encourage them to immediately call our Customer Contact Center, so we can assist.

TCM Bank’s fraud team is passionate about fighting fraud, while knowing there is a healthy balance between excellent customer service and stopping the fraudsters. Together, we can combat these crimes and ensure our cardholders are able to spend confidently with their credit card.