Financial Abuse

You can contact your credit card company directly and let them know about specific charges that you did not authorize. Some credit card agreements state that you are not responsible for any charges that you did not authorize and they will remove those charges from your account. Generally, however, before they will do this, you will need to speak to someone in their security department who looks into cases of fraud. You may also need to file a police report first about the charges – ask the credit card company.

Be cautious of companies or other offers that claim to “clean up” or improve credit reports, particularly if they charge a fee for their services. Consider contacting a local, not-for-profit consumer credit organization if you want help through this process. For a listing of organizations in your area, you can contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Note: WomensLaw.org does not endorse this website and cannot vouch for their services; we provide this for your information only.