Is the Bank Obligated to Refund Stolen Money From My Debit Card?

If you discover that someone has stolen money from your debit card, notify the bank immediately. The sooner you notify the bank, the more money the bank will legally be required to replace. Stay in touch with your bank to see the progress of its investigation and provide any assistance that officials might request. Some banks will go beyond the legal limits to make sure you get all of your money back.

If you realize your debit card or PIN has been lost, stolen or used without your permission, notify the bank as soon as possible. If you notify the bank within two business days, you can only be held liable for up to $50 in unauthorized transactions. Otherwise, you can be held liable for up to $500 in unauthorized charges.

If you receive a bank statement showing an unauthorized transaction and you don't notify the bank within 60 days, you can be held liable for additional unauthorized transactions that take place after those 60 days if the bank can show that they wouldn't have happened if you had reported the fraud. It's generally helpful to check your bank statements online or when they arrive in the mail to look for any unexplained charges so you can quickly contact your bank about them.

Your bank generally has 10 business days to investigate the fraud once you report it, and they must give you at least a temporary credit for the missing funds. There can be exceptions, including if the bank asks you for written confirmation of the report and you don't reply, so it's best to stay in touch with your bank and respond to any inquiries you receive.

The bank then has 45 days to permanently resolve the issue and must let you know in writing if it determines that the charges were actually authorized by you.

Some banks will go beyond the law to make sure you get your money back in the event of fraud. Visa® debit and credit cards, for instance, generally have a zero-liability policy for fraud, assuming you report it promptly. Visa also generally requires banks to replace your funds within five days of being notified.

Mastercard® has its own zero-liability policy for credit and debit cards, so if your debit card has one of these common brands, you generally won't owe any money after theft or fraud, provided you call your bank quickly after any incident.